Indigenous & Native Artifacts: Protecting our Nation’s Heritage

“Oh, Canada” I am sad for all the Indian people throughout the land. For I have known you when your forests were mine; when they gave me my meat and my clothing. I have known you in your streams and rivers where you fish flashed and danced in the sun, where the waters said ‘Come, come and eat of my abundance.’ I have known you in the freedom of the winds, once roamed your good lands. Chief Dan George

Our Heritage, we are very lucky to have such a rich history of Indigenous & Native cultures in Canada. There is not enough education on the history, ancestry and cultures of the many tribes that grace our lands. The past for our native populations goes back thousands of years. New discoveries are pushing back the timeline from what was taught in history class. Over thousands of years, stories, traditions and everyday objects, such as tools, hunting implements, pottery, jewelry and food preparation tools have been unearthed. In Ontario and Quebec, there are still potentially hundreds of sites where tribes hunted, played, lived and built their society. Many of these sites have yet to be found. 

History through the eyes of the artifacts from thousands to hundreds of years ago is located in museums, private collections, and various online sites that specialize in Indigenous & Native Artifacts. For the serious collector, who has an interest, knowledge and the desire to preserve this rich heritage is an asset. Pieces that have been collected or donated through the years to museums add to the education and preservation of culture and history. Unfortunately, there are persons who see the artifacts as a way to enrich themselves at the expense of heritage and history. These individuals will search for undiscovered settlements, burial or hunting grounds looking for any object that they can sell. In almost all cases, they also destroy the site while digging for soon-to-be treasure. With no concern for the culture, history, or preservation of the site for future generations to properly study. This happens all over the world. And has been going on for hundreds of years. 

World Bodies & Canada, are trying to stem the importation and illegal activities of the Indigenous & Native Artifacts. The United Nations under a 1970 UNESCO Convention (Convention on Cultural Properties Implementation Act, 19 USC 2601 et seq.) laid the groundwork for a worldwide treaty. The United States implemented the Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA) And Canada had the Indian Act (1985), National Parks Act (2000), Monuments Act (1985) and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (1992) for artifacts or items from endangered species. 

The Question on People’s Minds, is there any monetary value to Indigenous & Native Artifacts? This is a loaded question because it greatly depends on what a person has. There are collectors, museums and special interest groups looking for quality artifacts. There are also non-qualified persons who search for sacred or burial grounds looking for artifacts of value. We get calls from individuals asking for our advice, and when we determine that they might have dug up the artifacts from a burial or scared ground, we point them to the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI)and tell them that we can’t help them if they can disclose the location of where they found the objects in question. 

Important Web Links

Conservation services for Indigenous cultural centres and collections

Indian Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. I-5)

Important Reference Books on Indigenous & Native Artifacts.

History of the Indian Tribes of North America, McKenney & Hall, Volair Limited, Publishers of Fine Art Editions. Kent, Ohio, USA

(Limited print of 5,000 copies) Volumes I & II

Elles ont fait L’Amerique, Serge Bouchard, Marie-Christine Levesque, Lux Publications. Radio Canada, Québec, ISBN 978-2-895960973

Ils ont couru L’Amerique, Serge Bouchard, Marie-Christine Levesque, Lux Publications. Radio Canada, Québec, ISBN 978-2-895961611

Ils étaient l’Amerique, Serge Bouchard, Marie-Christine Levesque, Lux Publications. Radio Canada, Québec, ISBN 978-2-89596342-4

(These 3 volumes are in French only. They provide a lot of information on Indigenous & Native cultures in Eastern Canada. 

Indian Trade Relics: Identification and Values, Lar Hothem, Collector Books; Illustrated edition (March 12, 2003) ISBN 978-1574323030

Disclaimer

Prestige Evaluation Inc. does not engage in any buying or selling of any personal property. Prestige Evaluation Inc. can not do any verbal appraising without a work file and consultation. It’s important for the seller/buyer to do his or her own due diligence, before accepting an offer to purchase or in selling your personal property. For any company referred or named in this document, there is no financial consideration or relationship between Prestige Evaluation Inc. and or John Grow. This article was not generated by ChatGPT. AI Free