SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
In 2002, when a Haida delegation traveled to New York to repatriate
our ancestors from the American Museum of Natural History, we also visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) storage facility in Washington DC, to view Haida treasures held in
their collection. There are over seven hundred pieces attributed to
the Haida held in their collections. We were thrilled to see about
fifty pieces during that visit. We aslo made sure we visited the famous sculpture Spirit of Haida Gwaii by Haida artist Bill Reid at the Canadian Embassy. There we met with the Canadian Ambassador and staff who helped us a lot with cross-border issues.

In 2004, some HRC members met with the NMNH regarding the remains of seven Haida ancestors held in this museum. These ancestors originate from the territory of the Kaigani Haida of Alaska. Our committee is authorized to bring home our ancestors remains that originated from Haida Gwaii, and so this is outside of our jurisdiction, but we advised
our relatives to the north of this situation. Repatriation initiatives between first nations and museums in the United States is different
than in Canada, and is governed under NAGPRA (Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act). During this visit, the NMNH
gave us a tour of their museum, and we got to see quite a few of our Haida treasures on exhibit.