[2] Many scholars considered it imperative to obtain and collect these items before they were destroyed under the guise of salvage ethnography.
[3][6] A major shift in the history of repatriation in Canada arose surrounding an exhibition called The Spirit Sings.
[7][8] The Lubicon Lake Cree First Nation criticized the hypocrisy of Shell sponsoring an exhibit to celebrate indigenous art while their ongoing land claims with the company had stalled.
The International Committee for Museum Ethnography (ICME) held a conference to discuss the issues raised by the exhibit.
[8] The recommendation is made to increase the involvement of Indigenous peoples in making decisions regarding repatriation.
[3] NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) was considered when making recommendations but the report suggests that case-by-case negotiations based on ethical and moral standards would be preferred over a legal approach.
Repatriation has been resisted over concerns of the original group being unable to house the items in line with best conservation practices.
[6] During the creation of the Museum of Vancouver’s repatriation policy, board members raised concerns over the return of items.
[6] During the Spirit Sings controversy, there was pushback to the boycott on the basis that the protesters were limiting the freedom of academics to research and publish.
[10] An end-of-mourning ceremony was held for some of the ancestors which included gifts, prayers, and water offerings taken to sea by canoe.
[10] Potlatch regalia belonging to the Kwakwaka'wakw chief Dan Cranmer was confiscated in 1922 through laws banning the practice of potlach ceremonies.
[7] In 1975 the descendants of Dan Cranmer were successful in having the items returned from the National Museum of Canada with assistance from the Department of Indian Affairs.
[6] In 1926 a statue previously called the Sechelt Image, now renamed to “Our Grieving Mother” was sold to the Museum of Vancouver.
[9] In 1930’s a person from the Sts’ailes Nation reported having a spiritual encounter with Sasqu’ets, colloquially called Sasquatch.
[9] This encounter caused the person to carve a Sasqu’et mask in 1938 to be used as part of a winter dance called the Syowen ceremony.
[9] The Sts’ailes Nation asserted that they had a legal as well as spiritual claim to the mask, resulting in the return of the item.