The Trauma of Stolen Culture: Repatriation (or Rematriation) of Indigenous Artefacts to their Ancestral Peoples - with Métis Lawyer Myrna McCallum

Nearly a century after its removal, a totem pole that was stolen from the Nisga'a Nation of Canada's Pacific coast and sold to Scotland's National Museum was welcomed back to northern British Columbia in a moving homecoming ceremony last Fall. Far more than a cultural "object", the pole is described by the Nisga'a as "a chapter of the Peoples' cultural sovereignty" and "a living constitutional and visual record." Noxs Ts'aawit (Dr. Amy Parent), a member of the nation and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Education and Governance at Simon Fraser University, comments that the pole has "a living spirit in it" and is "a relative. And so it's like bringing a family member home after being gone for almost 100 years." There is a growing awareness around the world that the appropriation of cultural artifacts was an integral part of the process of colonial domination. Is it time to recognize this profound experience of cultural loss as a form of trauma that needs to be healed? I explore this question with the help of Myrna McCallum, a Métis lawyer from the Canadian West who specializes in trauma-informed lawyering. Myrna also hosts her own podcast, The Trauma-Informed Lawyer. Photo credit: Quinn Bender/Reuters