Canadian Heritage committee  Our nation has been researching this since 2006, I believe. To date, over 300 museums have been contacted, and we know well over 12,000 of our physical objects to be held in these museums around the world, including places such as India. We lost potential pieces in the fire at th

Canadian Heritage committee  There are a ton of treasures with private owners, and actually, after that initial repatriation of the totem poles from the Royal British Columbia Museum—

Canadian Heritage committee  We can't force private people, but we can encourage, educate and build relationships. That's how we've built the majority of our collection.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes. First and foremost, we have Haida who live around the world, but also, we love to share and educate, as long as we have a say on how it's presented and shared with the world.

Canadian Heritage committee  When I first looked at the bill with some colleagues and friends, it was sort of a blind side for us to even have it come out. Again, though, I thank Mr. Casey so much for initiating this process. I do understand from the minutes of the second hearing that it was asserted that so

Canadian Heritage committee  What I've found.... My father said a long time ago, “Why would we do to others what was done to us?” At least from a Haida world view, we have to work very closely with our nation on what is acceptable to put out and what isn't. For example, burial materials are not always the id

Canadian Heritage committee  I think in Canada over the past 20 years, our own work around ancestors—and it's truly transforming to be working at that level of repatriation—has fortified our relationships with major institutions across Canada, as well as in the United States. That comes from working together

Canadian Heritage committee  We're shaping a hybrid culture of indigenous nations and nation-state or mainstream museums. The work that is happening is shifting the societal discourse, essentially, because in the work we've done with institutions, which is what I think this bill should focus on, we celebrate

Canadian Heritage committee  A bill like the one that's being proposed, as long as it's kept broad.... This is the conundrum. This is where I think more time is needed to discuss it with the mainstream museums that we work actively with, along with indigenous nations across Canada, who should be the key stak

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, thank you very much. I would just like to say, you're bringing up UNDRIP, so thank you again for that. One of the recommendations for the bill is to change the word “aboriginal” to “indigenous”. In the case of the Haida Gwaii Museum, we have been researching where our tre

Canadian Heritage committee  Mr. Shields, were you on the standing committee studying the state of museums?

Canadian Heritage committee  You just sound familiar. Sorry.

Canadian Heritage committee  Okay, great. I'm just going to back up quickly, because I think Louis Riel is important. He said something about how a hundred years from now we will rise again, and art will bring us back. That's what we are seeing through true access to our art. In closing the gap, there are

Canadian Heritage committee  You asked how the removal of our treasures has deprived us. When you go into museums, you see these pieces and you know that they were removed through colonial regimes—most of them, not all of them. Our art represents our identity, our history, our connections to the lands, water

Canadian Heritage committee  Oh, I'm sorry. No, England is behind Canada.