On November 15, 2025, the Vatican returned 62 Indigenous artifacts from its Anima Mundi ethnographic collection to Canada. The call was carried out by Pope Leo XIV.
The items — including an iconic Inuit kayak, masks, moccasins and other cultural objects originally taken for a 1925 missionary exhibition — are being transferred to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who have pledged to return them to First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.
Church leaders called the handover a “concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity” and part of a wider journey of truth, justice and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
Source: Associated Press
📸: @straightouttathe6ixtv
*The image shown features Pope Francis during a previous visit with Indigenous leaders, but the official repatriation decision and transfer were made by Pope Leo XIV.
