Plan to move artifacts to Ottawa panned

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This article was published 25/07/2019 (2409 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Cultural researchers and Indigenous elders are joining a Winnipeg Liberal MP’s efforts to stop a federal plan to remove artifacts from Winnipeg.

On Tuesday, the federal Liberals unveiled the details of a plan to move federal heritage collections from across Canada to a warehouse just outside Ottawa.

The facility would house 25 million artifacts, about five million of which are in a depot at 145 McDermot Ave.

The Manitoba collection includes First Nations hunting tools, Métis beading and household objects from Mennonite and Ukrainian settlers. Many are fragments.

MaryAnn Mihychuk, the Liberal MP for Kildonan-St. Paul, has been pushing her government to keep the artifacts in Winnipeg. She’s heard concerns from Indigenous leaders and local researchers about the difficulty in accessing culturally significant objects.

“We’ve been making progress,” said Mihychuk, who in March called the decision a bad move for Western Canada.

Since then, officials at the Manitoba Museum have raised their concerns about the plan with federal officials. They are especially worried about collections that document the Red River Colony. Groups like the Manitoba Metis Federation and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak have also been discussing the move.

Laura Peers, a University of Oxford professor who specializes in the repatriation of Indigenous artifacts in North America, says the move goes against the trend of reconnecting First Nations and Métis communities with their physical heritage.

“It’s unlikely they will ever be accessible to people in Manitoba again,” Peers wrote in an email. “Indigenous people need more access to heritage items, not less.”

Parks Canada claims “about 60 per cent” of its collection is “at risk from inappropriate environmental storage conditions and security measures,” thus requiring the new, 8,200-square-metre facility.

Mihychuk toured the McDermot Avenue depot in March and said it seemed up to snuff. “It’s a very secure building with new fire-suppression systems. It looks state of the art,” she said.

Parks Canada disputes that, saying there are problems such as regulating temperature.

“Following an evaluation of the Winnipeg facility, the main issue identified was environmental set-points that are needed for the protection and conservation of the collection,” agency spokeswoman Megan Damini wrote.

The centralization was announced under the former Harper government in 2012. Parks Canada has pushed back the warehouse’s opening date to 2022. By that point, Mihychuk hopes there are enough alternative spaces in Winnipeg, such as the newly announced Métis museum, in which to keep the collection.

“We’re optimistic; the story hasn’t ended but we’re really pleased to be working with the department,” Mihychuk said.

She raised the issue with Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, who oversees Parks Canada.

Mihychuk said McKenna “indicated her primary concern was the safety and preservation of these precious items, and if we can find a solution that ensured their competency and their safety, this would be of course looked at very favourably.”

Groups in Saskatchewan told the Free Press they plan to voice similar concerns with Parks Canada but are not yet comfortable speaking publicly.

— with files from Niigaan Sinclair

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca