From Dana Murray
In May 2024, a gathering was hosted by the Bank of Canada Museum with elders from Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabe First Nation to welcome the wampum belts in the National Currency Collection back to Algonquin territory after their loan to the McCord-Museum in Montreal for the exhibition Wampum: Beads of Diplomacy.
This gathering was also an opportunity for GRASAC to reconnect with the Bank of Canada Museum, leading to the addition of 11 wampum relatives to the GKS, enriched by the observations and knowledge shared by Kitigan Zibi elders who were in attendance that day. With great thanks to the Bank of Canada Museum’s Krista Broeckx, Assistant Curator, and Janik Aubin-Robert, Manager Museum Collections, for their extensive research and care, we are pleased to announce that these relatives are officially published in the database, putting them back into relationship with each other and with community! GRASAC Data Steward, Dana Murray, worked closely with BoCM colleagues to produce the records in the GKS.
To learn more about these relatives, please visit GKS and using the Current locations drop down list, select “Bank of Canada Museum.”
The Bank of Canada Museum is currently drafting its first Rematriation/Repatriation Policy, in collaboration with the Bank of Canada’s Indigenous Advisory Circle. They hope to finalize the policy later in 2025.