Indigenous advocacy group calls on Swiss collector to avoid private sale of artifacts

An Indigenous advocacy group is appealing to a Swiss collector to prioritize the repatriation of culturally significant artifacts as he prepares for retirement. The collection, amassed by the collector before the closure of the Indian Land Museum in Gossau, Switzerland, at the end of 2025, is reportedly valued at around CA$20 million. It includes sacred items such as pipes, beaded regalia, and feathered headdresses, alongside guns believed to be linked to the Battle of the Little Bighorn and Plains Nations history.

“

They’re not just things you display like trophies. They are sacred and they are holy to our people, and they need to be looked after with prayer. Proper protocol needs to be taken, and the proper ceremonies need to be done.

Bringing Them Home, a grassroots Indigenous organization, has been in discussions with the collector, who they describe as empathetic and willing to work towards returning the items to their nations of origin. However, a price agreement has not yet been reached. A primary concern for the group is the potential for the artifacts to be acquired by private collectors who may not respect or share their educational and historical significance.

“

He’s willing to work with us. He seems to have a lot of empathy for these artifacts to come back home – to come back to the nations from which they came.

Karl Stone, a councillor with Dakota Tipi First Nation, emphasized the sacred nature of these items during a news conference, stating they require proper care, prayer, and ceremonial protocols. Gerald Neufeld, a member of Bringing Them Home, highlighted the importance of this effort for the healing process of Indigenous people. The group hopes to negotiate a final sale, after which individual nations will decide on the items' future, whether for keeping or museum display. Global News reached out to the collector for comment but received no response by the time of publication.

“

This is a very important part of the whole healing process for our Indigenous people who live on this land. The time is here that we need to be putting efforts into bringing these home.