The Museum & Archives of Vernon

Indigenous Collection

The Museum & Archives of Vernon has over 800 Indigenous cultural objects and 1500 archival documents. These Indigenous belongings originated from Nations within the Okanagan, along the coast, from the prairies and even the United States. They include beadwork, sculpture, baskets, stone tools, and photographs. Many are poorly documented, and likely misidentified, taken by collectors decades ago.

In 2021, the MAV signed on to the British Columbia Museum Association’s Call to Action, a pledge to return all human remains and grave goods.

As part of this pledge, the MAV is currently completing a draft of its new repatriation policy, which is expected to be ready in 2023. This repatriation policy does not just address human remains and grave goods, but all Indigenous belongings, and any supporting documents in our database. It will include a guide for Indigenous Nations and individuals who wish to know more about our collection and start their repatriation process. This draft will be shared with the community and changed based on feedback from our partners and host nation, the Okanagan Indian Band and the syilx People.

Our repatriation policy will be posted here in 2023, along with an inventory of our collections and any repatriation updates.

If you have any questions or feedback on repatriation at the Museum & Archives of Vernon please contact our curator, Laisha Rosnau, at laisha.rosnau@vernonmuseum.ca. Also, follow us on social media for any updates about repatriation.