Ni'isjoohl totem pole

The Nisga'a are an Indigenous people currently centred in the Nass River valley of British Columbia, Canada. In 2000, the Nisga'a Final Agreement came into effect, legitimising their land ownership and giving them the right to self-governance. It was the first agreement which also included a provision for the return of ancestral objects from Canadian museums and saw the creation of the Nisg̱a'a Museum in 2011 to house the items. The Nisga'a Nation created totem poles to record traditional stories and histories known as adaawak, giving the poles cultural importance as family treasures and constitutional devices. ==History==

Origin and description In the 1860s, master carver Oyea Tait of Gitwinksihlkw was commissioned by Joanna Moody (known as 'Ntsitskaos, or "Grandmother-scalp"), a member of the House of Ni'isjoohl living in Ank'idaa (also spelled Angyada), to create the pole. It was created as a memorial to Ts'wawit, a warrior who was next in line to be chief after Neestsawl of the Ganada (Raven) family, but was killed in conflict with the Tsimshian people. The majority of the pole is carved from a single piece of pacific red cedar, apart from a removable cap at the top, and it stands at tall. Robert Kerr of the Royal Scottish Museum gave the pole two names, the first being Hlkwarœt ("Small hat") after the removal cap, and the second being Masrayait ("White bullhead") from the fish represented on it. He lists the following figures on the pole from top to bottom: • Hlkwarœt, the ceremonial hat which was a crest of some families. Negotiations In 1991, a Nisga'a delegation visited Scotland and requested the return of the pole. They were informed that it was too fragile to be moved, however, it was later relocated during museum renovations. In April 2021, Parent gave a talk at Simon Fraser University's Research Centre for Scottish Studies on the project. On 9 August 2022, the Nisga'a Nation announced that a delegation would visit the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh to discuss the repatriation of the Ni'isjoohl pole. The delegation, including House of Ni'isjoohl members Amy Parent and Chief Earl Stephens (also known as Sim'oogit Ni'isjoohl), met with staff of the National Museum. In July 2023, Parent and members of the repatriation team were awarded Awards of Merit from the British Columbia Historical Federation for promoting British Columbia history. Return to the Nisga'a On 28 August 2023, members of the Nisga'a held a ceremony next to the Ni'isjoohl pole. Scaffolding was then erected around the pole to prepare it for removal. Following its removal from the museum, the pole was transported by the Royal Canadian Air Force to British Columbia. and it will be available to view in October. ==References==