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Winnipeg Free Press

Manitoba Museum apologizes for holding ancestral belongings

The Manitoba Museum issued a historic apology Thursday to First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities for holding ancestral belongings, including biological and physical remains, in its collections in downtown Winnipeg. 'By accepting, inheriting and keeping ancestral remains in the museum collection, the Manitoba Museum has contributed to and played a role in colonization,' the statement, composed by the museum's board of governors, reads. 'These actions have perpetuated the forced displacement of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and their life experiences, contributing to systemic discrimination and racism, including the history of violence perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples. 'We recognize that keeping ancestral remains in the museum collections has had, and will continue to have, a serious impact on our relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We regret the harm and disrespect caused to the ancestors and to First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, and we apologize for our actions, inactions and failures, past and present.' Museum officials were joined Thursday by representatives of the Southern Chiefs' Organization, elders from the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, community leaders from Inuit and Métis communities, and staff from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Following a pipe ceremony, museum CEO Dorota Blumczynska delivered the apology, vowing that no ancestors will enter the museum in the future. Many of those ancestors — defined by the museum as 'the physical or biological remains, and more broadly, the spirits of Original Peoples' — were removed from burial locations by early 20th-century archeologists or brought to the museum by members of the public. The remains held at the museum, which opened in 1970 as the Museum of Man & Nature, belong to at least 40 individuals, the majority of whom are believed by the museum to have been buried within the last 500 years in southern Manitoba, though some originated in northern Manitoba and potentially the United States. Supplied Manitoba Museum CEO Dorota Blumczynska Supplied Manitoba Museum CEO Dorota Blumczynska None are from or near Indian residential school sites, the museum says. None of the ancestors was ever on display at the museum; however, some belongings were displayed 'many years ago.' One replica of an ancestor was on view in the museum's Grasslands gallery until the 1980s. 'It was wrong to display this,' the museum's website says. In all cases, the museum, along with its Indigenous advisory circle, is conducting research to determine kinship communities in order to repatriate the ancestors and belongings to their places of origin according to local traditions and customs. 'The Manitoba Museum is located on Treaty 1 territory in the same part of this great nation as the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation,' Blumczynska told the Free Press. 'We understand our role in the harm that's been done and also the responsibility we have to do the work that can hopefully one day provide space for healing. 'As a direct action and a commitment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we believe that by doing this we can be thoughtful and meaningful allies on our shared journey of truth and reconciliation.' The work to repatriate the ancestors and their belongings will take several years, said Blumczynska, who added that the museum has been undergoing its Homeward Journey project since 2022. Ben WaldmanReporter Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University's (now Toronto Metropolitan University's) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben. Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.