Provincial Repatriation Policy Framework Co-development
Last updated on August 15, 2025Introduction
The Province is co-developing a provincial Repatriation Policy Framework (the Policy Framework), in alignment with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the British Columbia Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Declaration Act) and as set out in the Declaration Act Action Plan:
Action 4.33: Co-develop a policy framework to support repatriation initiatives.
The Policy Framework will identify priorities, provide guidance, standards, and a set of recommendations that will inform the return and control over Ancestors and Cultural Belongings to the First Nations in British Columbia. It is intended as a first step in a Provincial response to complex repatriation needs.
Co-development Approach
In June 2024, with input from the First Nations Leadership Council the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport appointed a Repatriation Steering Committee to guide co-development of the Policy Framework. Members of the Steering Committee include representatives of the First Nations Leadership Council, BC Assembly of First Nations, First Nations Summit, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the Alliance of BC Modern Treaty Nations, the First Peoples' Cultural Council, the Royal BC Museum, the BC Arts Council, the BC Museums Association's Indigenous Advisory Committee, Indigenous heritage experts and the provincial government.
To ensure policy alignment and support communication across the provincial government, a working group consisting of ministries whose work intersects with repatriation activities will support the co-development process.
Purpose of the Policy Framework
Support the Respectful Return of Indigenous Ancestors and Cultural Belongings:
- Provide guidance to the First Nations in B.C.; B.C. heritage-holding organizations including museums, archaeological repositories, archives, and universities.
Transparency and Accountability:
- Provide standards for the return and care of Ancestors and Cultural Belongings that provincially funded heritage-holding organizations are required to follow.
Alignment of Provincial Government Policies:
- Seek alignment of provincial government policies intersecting with repatriation activities.
Province-wide Engagement
A province-wide engagement is intended to identify priorities and outline the necessary steps to support repatriation for the First Nations in British Columbia. Engagement will happen between fall 2025 and spring 2026.
This includes:
- 7 in-person engagement sessions for First Nations across different regions
- 4 virtual meetings (2 for First Nations in B.C., 2 for B.C. heritage-holding organizations)
- Focus Group sessions and one-on-one interviews
- Validation sessions to confirm what was heard and share next steps
To participate in-person or virtual sessions for First Nations in B.C., please visit the Registration Page.
For further information on the engagement, please download the 3-page Engagement Backgrounder.
Information on sessions for heritage-holding organizations will be communicated later in fall 2025.
The Declaration Act Engagement Fund (DAEF) is administered by New Relationship Trust and is available for First Nations to access capacity support to participate in Declaration Act Action Plan engagement. This includes Action 4.33: Co-develop a policy framework in support of repatriation initiatives. Please visit the New Relationship Trust for more information.
Resources
First Nations in British Columbia have led much of the work that guides co-development of the Policy Framework. This includes efforts by experts at First Peoples’ Cultural Council, the Haida Gwaii Museum at Ḵay 'Llnagaay, the Stó:lō House of Respect Caretaking Committee, and the S’ólh Téméxw Stewardship Alliance, as well as the work by First Nations in British Columbia to return their Ancestors and Belongings to their home communities.
Further key advocacy and research includes the Reciprocal Research Network, the B.C. Repository Roundtable, the Royal BC Museum, the Canadian and BC Museums Associations, and other Heritage-holding organizations and experts in British Columbia and beyond.
Research and advocacy on repatriation has been extensive. The following list of resources provides access to some of the key initiatives informing co-development.
Are we missing an important resource? Please reach out to: ArtsAndCulture@gov.bc.ca
Previous Consultation and Engagement Reports
Government of British Columbia. (2024). Heritage Conservation Act Transformation Project. Phase II: What we heard report. https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/987/2025/07/hcatp_phase_2_wwhr.pdf
Government of British Columbia. Heritage Conservation Act Transformation Project. (2023). B.C. First Nations consultation outcomes. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/natural-resource-use/archaeology/forms-publications/hcatp_phase_1_wwhr_first_nations.pdf
Department of Canadian Heritage, & Archipel Research and Consulting. (2023). Towards the renewal of Canada’s Museum Policy. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/renewal-museum-policy/what-we-heard.html
Royal BC Museum. (2019). Indigenous Voices on Modernization Report. https://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/assets/Indigenous_Voices_on_Modernization_2019-FINAL.pdf
BC Archaeology Branch. (2019). Ancestral remains policy review: Summary of engagement. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/natural-resource-use/archaeology/ancestral_remains_policy_review_-_summary_of_engagement.pdf
Previous Funding Reports
Royal BC Museum, BC Museums Association, & First Peoples’ Cultural Council. (2017–2023). Repatriation/Rematriation funding reports to Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport.
Roundtable and Symposium Learnings
Stó:lō House of Respect Caretaking Committee, & S’ólh Téméxw Stewardship Alliance. (2024). Sharing Our Paths: Repatriation Gathering on Networks, Challenges & Policy Standards. https://thestsa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Sharing-Our-Paths-STSA-SRRMC-FPCC-FINAL-DIGITAL-May-2024.pdf
Canadian Museums Association. (2024). What we heard: Repatriation symposium. https://museums.in1touch.org/uploaded/web/docs/MTA/2024_EN_WWH_Report.pdf
Royal BC Museum, & First Peoples’ Cultural Council. (2017). Indigenous perspectives on repatriation: Moving forward together. https://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/indigenous-perspectives-repatriation-moving-forward-together
Research and Recommendations
First Peoples’ Cultural Council. (2025). From Stealing to Healing: Repatriation and B.C. First Nations. https://fpcc.ca/resource/from-stealing-to-healing
First Peoples’ Cultural Council. (2025). Repatriation Cost Analysis. https://fpcc.ca/resource/repatriation-cost-analysis/
Indigenous Heritage Circle. (2022). Indigenous heritage & United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. https://indigenousheritage.ca/wp-content/uploads/IHC-UNDRIP-Report-EN-medium-res-May-2022.pdf
First Peoples’ Cultural Council. (2020). Recommendations for decolonizing British Columbia’s heritage related processes and legislation. https://fpcc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/FPCC-Decolonizing-Heritage-Processes-and-Legislation.pdf
First Peoples’ Cultural Council. (2019). Recognizing and including Indigenous cultural heritage in B.C. https://fpcc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/FPCC-ICH-Policy-Paper-190918-WEB.pdf
Guidance for Communities
University of Alberta, Kule Institute for Advanced Study. (2021). Repatriation in Canada: A guide for communities. https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/2dfb153e-76da-4cac-a968-a3f6b2e3a61c
Royal BC Museum, Haida Gwaii Museum. (2019). Indigenous Repatriation Handbook. https://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/indigenous/repatriation-handbook
Reciprocal Research Network. (2014–present). https://www.rrncommunity.org/
Guidance for Heritage-holding Organizations
Canadian Museums Association. (2022). Moved to action framework: Activating UNDRIP in Canadian museums. https://museums.ca/site/movedtoaction
Canadian Museums Association. (2022). More Than Giving Back: Repatriation Toolkit. https://museums.ca/uploaded/web/TRC_2022/More-than-giving-back.pdf
Heritage BC. (2021). Setting The Bar: A guide to achieve new standards for reconciliation within the heritage sector. https://heritagebc.ca/learning-centre/reconciliation/setting-the-bar/
International Council of Museums. (2022). Guidance for restitution and return of items from university collections and museums. http://umac.icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ICOM-RR-guidance-finaldraft-August-21.pdf
Policies, Legislation, Declarations and Mandates
Government of Canada. (2023). United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and action plan. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/declaration/ap-pa/index.html
Government of British Columbia. (2019). Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and action plan. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/indigenous-people/new-relationship/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples
Australian Government. (2016). Australian government policy on Indigenous repatriation. https://www.arts.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/australian_government_policy_on_indigenous_repatriation.pdf
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Report and calls to action. https://nctr.ca/about/history-of-the-trc/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-of-canada/
United Nations. (2007). United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf
Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand. (2003). Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme. https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/about/repatriation/karanga-aotearoa-repatriation-programme
United States National Park Service. (1990/2023). Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nagpra/index.htm
Terms Used
Repatriation
A term used to describe the return of Indigenous Ancestors and Belongings to Indigenous Peoples. For the purposes of this work, the term repatriation is used unless rematriation is used by the community referenced.
Source: First Peoples’ Cultural Council. (2025). From Stealing to Healing: Repatriation and B.C. First Nations.
Rematriation
A term used to describe the return of Ancestors and Belongings to Indigenous Peoples with an ancestral connection that honours the matrilineal role of Indigenous women in leadership, and matrilineal societies.
Source: First Peoples’ Cultural Council. (2025). From Stealing to Healing: Repatriation and B.C. First Nations.
Repatriation Activities
- Return of and control over Indigenous Ancestors and Cultural Belongings;
- Proactive organizational policies facilitating return of and control over Indigenous Ancestors and Cultural Belongings;
- Co-stewardship agreements, commissioning of replicas, digitization of collections, temporary housing of Cultural Belongings, special access, loans, review of policies, gifting/returning un-accessioned items;
- Institutional Activities:
- Collections management and provenance research
- Submitting and/or receiving repatriation requests
- Conducting internal institutional inventories
- Negotiating stewardship or research agreements with Nations
- Coordinating logistics of repatriation and/or rematriation
- Participating in repatriation and/or rematriation ceremonies, where invited;
- Community Activities:
- Community-based research relating to provenance, use, ownership, and histories of removal
- Community meetings
- Development and funding of infrastructure projects to house returned Ancestors and/or Cultural Belongings
- Planning and coordination of repatriation and/or rematriation events
- Acquiring funds to support repatriation and rematriation activities
- Gathering or soliciting necessary materials for ceremony or other repatriation/rematriation activities.
Sources: Royal BC Museum & Haida Gwaii Museum. (2019). Indigenous Repatriation Handbook.
Atalay, S. (2019). Braiding strands of wellness: How repatriation contributes to healing through embodied practice and storywork.
Meloche, C. (2022). What happens next? Exploring connections between repatriation, restorative justice, and reconciliation in Canada (Doctoral dissertation, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada).
Ancestors
Human remains, housed in colonial institutions, that have an ancestral connection to Indigenous Peoples of today.
Source: First Peoples’ Cultural Council. (2025). From Stealing to Healing: Repatriation and B.C. First Nations.
(Cultural) Belongings
Ancestral, cultural objects often referred to as “artifacts” housed in colonial institutions that have an ancestral connection to Indigenous Peoples of today. Belongings also extend to “intangible heritage” such as those found in archives.
Source: First Peoples’ Cultural Council. (2025). From Stealing to Healing: Repatriation and B.C. First Nations.
Heritage-holding Organizations
Institutions or organizations that hold and/or care for Indigenous Ancestors, Cultural Belongings, and other heritage such as audio-visual materials and documentation. These may include but are not limited to museums, archives, galleries, libraries, historic sites, universities, and archaeological repositories.
Source: First Peoples’ Cultural Council. (2025). From Stealing to Healing: Repatriation and B.C. First Nations.
Institutional Barriers
A term used to describe policies, rules, laws or other fundamental components of an institution (e.g. museum or university) that prevents or makes it difficult or impossible for something to happen or be achieved.
Source: Stó:lō House of Respect Caretaking Committee, & S’ólh Téméxw Stewardship Alliance. (2024). Sharing Our Paths: Repatriation Gathering on Networks, Challenges & Policy Standards.
Policy Framework
A policy framework may be a document, or a series of documents, that provides non-regulatory guidance which can assist in selecting the most appropriate approach to circumstances. Policy frameworks outline sets of principles and long-term goals that can determine rule-making, guidelines and give overall direction to planning and development of an office or government. Policy frameworks may also provide better understanding of how regulatory systems operate and how to strategically use different tools to achieve policy objectives.
Source: Government of British Columbia. (2020). Policy Approaches Playbook.
Project Updates
August 2025: Invitations for First Nations engagement registration sent by Mahihkan Management on behalf of the Repatriation Steering Committee and Province.
July 2025: Co-Chairs of the Repatriation Steering Committee sent out notifications to the First Nations in British Columbia, advising on the upcoming engagement on the Policy Framework.
Spring-Summer 2025: The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport is reviewing available learnings and What We Heard reports from previous heritage-related engagements, community gatherings, and research, to develop documents and materials that will support targeted engagement as part of the co-development of a repatriation policy framework.
Contact information
For more information, please contact ArtsAndCulture@gov.bc.ca.