NISGA'A NATION'S MEMORIAL TOTEM POLE
"The memorial pole was taken without consent in 1929 by an ethnographer researching Nisga’a village life, who then sold it to the Scottish museum where it has been on display since 1930.
A museum statement says it was carved from red cedar in 1855 in memorial of Ts’aawit, a Nisga’a chief."
“'The pole is part of a living being,' Stephens [ Nisga’a Nation Chief Earl] said in an interview from the Nisga’a village of Laxgalts’ap.
It carries the spirit of his great, great grandmother, which is why it’s so important to bring it back to the Nisga’a lands where it came from, he said."
A memorial totem pole is shown in this handout image provided by National Museums Scotland. The museum says it will return to the Nisga’a Nation in British Columbia a memorial pole taken nearly a century ago. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-National Museums Scotland
I can only imagine the magnitude of thievery prevalent across North American for decades. The wanton pilfering of property and heritage is not different from what the Nazi's did throughout Europe as they conquered citizens.