B.C. Nisga'a totem on display at Scotland museum since 1930 is heading home
Posted: Dec. 1, 2022 2:54PMA memorial totem pole is shown in this image provided by National Museums Scotland. The museum says it will return to the Nisga'a Nation in British Columbia a memorial pole taken nearly a century ago.says it will return a memorial totem pole taken nearly a century ago from the Nisga’a Nation in British Columbia.
The museum says its board of trustees approved the First Nation’s request to transfer the pole back to its home in northwest B.C. A delegation of Nisga’a leaders travelled to Edinburgh last August to request the transfer of the 11-metre pole back to their territory. Nisga’a Nation Chief Earl Stephens says in a statement their people believe the pole, which was hand-carved in the mid-1800s, is alive with the spirit of an ancestor and it’s now coming home to rest.Sign up for our newsletter to get breaking news and daily digests sent to your email.Stephens says the memorial pole was taken without consent in 1929 by a person researching Nisga’a village life, who then sold it to the Scottish museum where it has been on display since 1930.