Birch Bark Canoe Repatriation

Transcript

(Images of flowing river in the middle of a forest.)

Narration:
For too long, Indigenous cultural and sacred items have been scattered around the world, far from their communities. More recently, people have become better aware of the significance of these items to their Indigenous communities.

(Images of a canoe made from birch bark.)

Narration:
In several instances, this understanding has compelled their return. The CBSA understands the meaning of these items and is here to support their secure and respectful journey home.

(Interview footage of John Bay, Akwesasne/Cornwall Regional Indigenous Affairs Advisor, Canada Border Services Agency.)

John Bay:
Originally, when I heard about the canoe, it was from a chief in the community of Kahnawake. They had reached out to me in order to assist them with the repatriation/rematriation of the canoe.

(Images of the canoe made from birch bark.)

John Bay:
The canoe originated in the Kahnawake area around 1910. It was purchased by a man from Minnesota and it was exported from Canada at that time.

(Interview footage of John Bay.)

John Bay:
Since then, it's been in the possession of one man and his family.

(Image of the birch bark canoe.)

John Bay:
He had reached out to the Grand Chief of Kahnawake, letting them know that “we have this canoe, my children don't want it any longer”, and he'd like to donate it back to the community.

(Interview footage of John Bay.)

John Bay:
Of course they said “yes, we would love to have it”. And they contacted me in order to get that process rolling.

(Image of the birch bark canoe.)

Chief Harry Rice:
So we exchanged emails a couple of times. Then we finally spoke.

(Interview footage of Chief Harry Rice, Mohawk Council of Kahnawake.)

Chief Harry Rice:
And then as the days were getting closer, we spoke a couple more times. And then I let him know I'm leaving, I'm here, I'm an hour out.

(Photo of Chief Harry Rice in front of his rented U-Haul truck.)

(Photo of the canoe in the U-Haul truck.)

Chief Harry Rice:
So I kept contact with him and it worked out. And even the other border guards, they were all in awe.

(Interview footage of Chief Harry Rice.)

Chief Harry Rice:
They came out and like, we lifted to the back of the U-Haul and everybody was like, oh my God! Oh, that's so cool! It's so cool!

(Interview footage of Chief Harry Rice and John Bay side by side.)

Chief Harry Rice:
So, yeah, that's basically how we became friends.

John Bay:
Friends, exactly. Yeah. Throughout the entire process we maintained contact. He gave me the date when he was scheduled to go to Minnesota.

(Images of John Bay walking with another border services officer.)

John Bay:
And I knew I had to rush everything with the paperwork, make sure everything was in order.

(Images of the Port of Entry in Cornwall, Ontario.)

John Bay:
I made my way to the port of entry. I live half an hour away from the port. So I went there in anticipation of his arrival.

(Interview footage of Chief Harry Rice and John Bay side by side.)

John Bay:
The port of entry was very helpful.

(Photo of John Bay, Chief Harry Rice, and another border services officer, in front of the opened U-Haul truck.)

John Bay:
Like he said, all the officers came out and they were in awe of this historic event. Because that's what it was. It was historic, like, a 100 year old plus canoe.

(Interview footage of Chief Harry Rice and John Bay side by side.)

John Bay:
We don't know how old it is. Like, it could be 150 years or more.

(Images of the birch bark canoe.)

Chief Harry Rice:
The end story of that was actually bringing the canoe back to Kahnawake, where it can be preserved at our cultural center.

(Interview footage of Chief Harry Rice.)

Chief Harry Rice:
And we are in the process of building a brand new museum, and it'll be proudly displayed there.

(Images of the birch bark canoe.)

Narration:
If you are working on repatriating or rematriating a cultural or sacred item and have questions about the journey across the border, please contact us using the email address shown on your screen.

(Text on-screen: repatriations-rapatriements@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca)

(Canada Wordmark)