When thieves stole the left hand of a totem pole created by the Kwakiutl First Nation Canadian artist Charles Joseph, they did not know what it signified. But as soon as they found out what the artwork means to so many people, they immediately returned the hand along with a remorseful apology letter.
The totem pole stands outside the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and represents the hardship of the Indigenous peoples who suffered under Canada’s residential school system throughout the majority of the 19th and 20th centuries. 150,000 First Nation, Inuit and Métis children were forced away from their parents for long periods to attend the institution, and the students faced major repercussions upon speaking their native language or practicing their ancestral customs.
Within less than a fortnight of the theft, which occurred on September 20th, the culprits left the missing hand at the doorstep of the museum and explained in a letter that they felt sick to their stomach as soon as they found out what it was.
“We were simply ignorant of what it symbolized, and have decided we 100 percent needed to return it,” they wrote, according to the museum. “We are sorry, so sorry for any pain and anger we have caused. Love for all people.”
Nathalie Bondil, director general and chief curator at the museum, said that this change of heart “shows us that art educates and sensitizes us to all of the most important issues, notably our reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.”
