Ceremony marks start of journey home for Indigenous totem pole taken to Scotland a century ago

LONDON (AP) — Members of a Canadian First Nation have held a spiritual ceremony at a Scottish museum to begin the homeward journey of a totem pole stolen almost a century ago. The 11-meter (36-foot) pole is being restored by the National Museum of Scotland to the Nisga’a Nation in northern British Columbia. It is one of the first times a British museum has returned artifacts to North America’s Indigenous peoples. Chief Earl Stephens, whose Nisga’a name is Sim’oogit Ni’isjoohl, said that “after nearly 100 years, we are finally able to bring our dear relative home to rest on Nisga’a lands.” The pole will be flown to Canada on an Canadian air force plane before going on display at the Nisga’a Museum.