A number of ceremonies in Victoria on Monday are marking the return of a totem pole to Bella Coolasa国际传媒檚 Nuxalk territory from the Royal B.C. Museum.

After a crowd watched a crane lower the totem pole from the upper levels of the museum, one of the Nuxalk hereditary chiefs who helped spur the repatriation said it will give them the opportunity to bring back their stories.

sa国际传媒淲e have to remind ourselves of who we are, where we come from, why wesa国际传媒檙e here on Mother Earth,sa国际传媒� said Snuxyaltwa (also known as Deric Snow).

sa国际传媒淭hank you guys for coming here today. My family is happy, our ancestors are rejoicing.sa国际传媒�

Nuxalk members sang a Thunder Song as the pole was being lowered and many embraced as it touched down onto the stone outside the museum entrance.

sa国际传媒淓verything that is on that totem pole has a meaning,sa国际传媒� Snuxyaltwa said. sa国际传媒淩ight from the day it was born, it had a purpose, a purpose of life.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 sorry I got so teary-eyed, but I feel the spirits, itsa国际传媒檚 hard not to.sa国际传媒�

The pole, which had been taken from Talleomy, the original village site of the Nuxalk Nation, before the community moved to Bella Coola, has been in the First Peoplessa国际传媒� gallery of the RBCM for decades.

The museum verbally agreed to return the pole in 2019 after a visit from four Nuxalk hereditary chiefs and a civil claim against RBCM was filed in January 2022. The museum said the delay was a combination of logistical challenges sa国际传媒� they didnsa国际传媒檛 know how to get the towering totem pole out of the building sa国际传媒� and COVID-related delays.

Snuxyaltwa said the pole was originally carved by his great-grandfather and initially installed as an entrance pole for the Snuxualtwa family longhouse in Talleomy.

The Nuxalk community was devastated by the smallpox epidemic and the remaining community members were relocated to Bella Coola. On or around the same time, the totem pole was taken or purchased and then ended up in the museum.

Aiyanna Blankenship and Charlene Schooner travelled from Bella Coola to witness the handover.

Blankenship said everybody in the community is really happy about the pending return of the pole.

sa国际传媒淚t is something our families have been waiting for, waiting to be honoured and remembered in a good way, to be treated with dignity and respect, to be recognized as a human, to understand that we have really strong ties to the land,sa国际传媒� Schooner said.

These poles capture the great history of the Nuxalk Nation, Schooner added, comparing their removal to residential schools. sa国际传媒淭hey were just torn away in the same way. These belong (to us). They are part of our history. They acknowledge how long we have been there.sa国际传媒�

-With files from Wolfgang Depner and Ruth Lloyd

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