How research supported the rematriation of a Nisg_a’a totem pole

When Nisg_a’a scholar Noxs Ts'aawit (Amy Parent), Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Governance and Education at Simon Fraser University, was asked if she could help support the raising of a new totem pole in her community, she didn’t hesitate. What she didn’t realize was that the project would expand into a multiyear endeavour to bring home another totem pole that had been in Scotland since being stolen nearly a century earlier. And it would also turn her into an authority on totem pole rematriation.

“My background is not in museum studies, and I certainly never went to totem pole rematriation school,” says Parent. “I didn’t even know when we started our rematriation efforts whether it was going to be possible to return our totem pole to us.”

Research laid the groundwork for success

Totem poles are used by many First Nations, including the Nisg_a’a, to share visual representations of the oral histories of people, ancestors, places and relationships with the spiritual world, as well as to commemorate important events. The Ni’isjoohl pole was commissioned in the 1860s by Parent’s ancestral grandmother Joanna Moody, to honour Ts’aawit, another ancestor who fell defending their family and nation’s sovereignty. Totem poles are believed to be living spirits after their carvers breathe life into them and, as such, are considered ancestors themselves. This meant that when the Ni’isjoohl pole was stolen in 1929 by a settler anthropologist and ultimately sold to a museum in Scotland, the violation cut much deeper than the theft of an artifact.

“We rejected the museum's use of the term ‘artifact’, because it objectifies a living being that cannot be owned by any institution,” says Parent. “Can you imagine a museum trying to lay claim to one of your grandparents?”

Research supported by the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) played a key role in returning the pole to its rightful place. The project started with Parent piecing together the story of the Ni’isjoohl pole, using oral histories from the Nisg_a’a people, as well as written records from the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, where the pole was being held at the time. That research helped her write a chapter published in a book examining Scotland’s colonial history (PDF Document, 2.4 Mb). The chapter became part of the formal written request to return the totem pole.

“We had to engage and challenge the colonial archive, where the written word is the law in Eurocentric institutions,” says Parent. “By working with our chiefs and matriarchs who had knowledge of the theft, we were able to put their oral histories alongside academic language as part of our assertions for the pole’s return, making them much harder to ignore.”

The work also involved significant knowledge mobilizationeffortsto raise awareness and support for the project, particularly among scholars in Scotland who could help put pressure on the museum to return the totem pole. That included socializing the term “rematriation” as a culturally appropriate alternative to “repatriation” that more accurately reflects the matrilineal nature of Nisg_a’a society.

“There’s nothing patriarchal about our work,” says Parent. “It’s important to continue to support the dimensions of rematriation.”

A homecoming years in the making

In August 2022, Parent was part of a seven-person delegation of Nisg_a’a who visited the National Museum of Scotland to demand the return of the Ni’isjoohl pole. One potential roadblock was the museum’s policy to relinquish “artifacts” only to a national government, to be housed in a national museum. The Nisg_a’a delegation did not include any representatives of the Government of Canada.

“We were very clear from the beginning that we are a self-governing nation, and we did not need Canada there on our behalf,” says Parent. “We just weren’t sure if they were informed of our unique political status with Canada.”

They were. After three months of deliberation, National Museums Scotland agreed to return the totem pole. A larger Nisg_a’a delegation returned to Scotland in August 2023 to oversee the de-installation and send the Ni’isjoohl pole on its journey home, including an important spiritual ceremony during which they received a formal apology from The Scottish Government and the Museum.

A ceremony and traditional feast were held on September 29, 2023, to celebrate the arrival of the totem pole at the Nisg_a’a Museum in the Nisg_a’a village of Lax_galts’ap. Now that it’s home, it supports language and cultural revitalization, giving the next generation of Nisg_a’a the opportunity to discover the stories attached to the pole and learn about traditional carving, artistic and rematriation practices.

Decolonizing research

Since the successful rematriation of the Ni’isjoohl totem pole, Parent has helped support the return of another family’s totem pole, currently held at the Museum of Anthropology at The University of British Columbia. She and members of the delegation that journeyed to Scotland have also heard from other museums around the world that hold Nisg_a’a belongings, opening the door to further rematriation efforts. And, Parent is currently writing a book and producing a film on the Ni’isjoohl rematriation.

“Any collective win like this supports the next Indigenous group as a precedent,” says Parent. “We are grateful that justice for our ancestors has prevailed, and we’re happy to share our experience and learnings from the process to help Indigenous communities globally.”

These efforts and the connections Parent has made also support her broader work as Canada Research Chair. In that role, she challenges colonial structures in research and advocates for self-determined BC First Nations research governance—driven in part by institutional racism she has encountered while navigating research and funding systems, including for this rematriation project. To help address that issue, she is now co-chair of the tri-agency Indigenous Leadership Circle in Research, which is leading the implementation of a national strategic plan on Indigenous research, research leadership and self-determination.