{"id":786765,"date":"2026-07-07T20:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T20:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/786765\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T20:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T20:15:14","slug":"theyre-back-home-naskapi-welcome-century-old-artifacts-on-loan-from-toronto-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/786765\/","title":{"rendered":"‘They’re back home:\u2019 Naskapi welcome century-old artifacts on loan from Toronto museum"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Opening up a case and holding some 100-year-old Naskapi artifacts filled Chief Louise Nattawappio with a feeling she says is hard to describe.<\/p>\n

The items haven\u2019t been home in decades \u2014 since they were aquired by American anthropologist, Frank Speck.<\/p>\n

The painted and carefully sewn doll clothes, netting needles and hunting tools, dating from 1927 to 1950, are on loan to the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach in northern Quebec for the next month from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re back home in the territory,\u201d said Nattawappio.<\/p>\n

Seeing and holding them was a mix of wonder and excitement, she says. For her, it\u2019s about history and \u201cconnecting back to our identity that we’ve lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

The items, all originally from the surrounding region, are on loan to coincide with the community\u2019s summer camp. <\/p>\n

For the next few weeks kids between the ages of five and 11 will learn about the artifacts and how to recreate some of the tools or items in order to preserve and pass on part of the community\u2019s history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AnDavid Swappie, who will be 93 years old this year, viewed the objects on Monday. The nation’s chief said some elders have already asked if the items are staying in the community for good. (Benjamin Jancewicz\/The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach)<\/p>\n

On Monday, the day the shipment arrived, the community\u2019s elders gathered together to take a first look at the objects. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was one elder who knew most of them,\u201d said Nattawappio. \u201cHe was the oldest. And he said he’s the last one alive of his group.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the items that stood out to the chief were snow goggles \u2014 used to prevent eye irritation caused by the weather, wind and the sun, as explained by the community’s elders.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AChief Louise Nattawappio opened up the case which travelled from Toronto. (Benjamin Jancewicz\/The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach)<\/p>\n

Up until this week, many elders had only seen these artifacts through photos.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a hard time travelling, especially long, long travel,\u201d Nattawappio said.\u00a0\u201cI was glad it was possible to bring them back home so that they can see [it] in person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loan is part of reconciliation efforts, says curator<\/p>\n

This kind of loan is considered \u201cpretty exceptional\u201d considering the objects will be used interactively, says John Creese, Vettoretto Curator of North American archeology at the ROM. <\/p>\n

The process of bringing a case of artifacts home to the community started last year, when a group travelled from Kawawachikamach to the museum and then began speaking about the possibility of a loan. <\/p>\n

\"AOn Monday, the day the shipment arrived, the community\u2019s elders gathered together to take a first look at the objects. (Benjamin Jancewicz\/The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were really thrilled to be able to co-ordinate with them and make it happen,” he said. <\/p>\n

ROM worked with a fine arts shipping company to get the items to the community, located over 1,000 kilometres northeast of Montreal. Creese said he is personally planning on visiting the community in August to bring the items back to Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s very exciting. I do see this kind of work as part of the broader reconciliation efforts that organizations like the ROM are making. It’s so important for belongings like this to come home,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Repatriation an ‘ongoing discussion’<\/p>\n

Creese said seeing and holding these types of objects create a sense of \u201crootedness\u201d and connection with ancestors and traditional activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a lot of information which in some ways is kind of embedded in belongings. You know, you can learn about the specific techniques that were used for painting, for sewing, for making,\u201d said Creese.<\/p>\n

\"AnThe painted and carefully sewn doll clothes, netting needles and hunting tools, dating back to the early 20th century, are on loan from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto. (Benjamin Jancewicz\/The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach)<\/p>\n

While the loan for these items is set for four weeks, he said the museum has had conversations in the past with other communities regarding repatriation of belongings and is \u201copen to talking about that, at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chief Nattawappio said some elders have already asked if the items are staying in the community for good.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Nattawappio informed the elders the items need to be sent back next month, she said repatriation is an \u201congoing discussion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":786766,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,3302],"class_list":["post-786765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}