Countless Indigenous remains and objects are in museums and homes. This archeologist wants them back - Toronto Star

Brandy George is working with First Nations to help find sacred objects and remains of ancestors that were stolen.

Archaeologist and cultural adviser Brandy George is pictured in Springbank Park in London, Ont. on Monday. She’s working on the Help Us Bring Our Ancestors Home project with the Chiefs of Ontario, who are calling on the Ontario government, institutions and individuals to bring sacred artifacts and ancestors home.

Early in her career, Brandy George sat with an Elder in Six Nations of the Grand River, who asked her what she could tell him about his people and traditional territory.

George was meeting the Elder with other archeologists, but was the only one who was Indigenous. She was a visitor to the community and hadn’t yet established her reputation in the field. She told the Elder she didn’t have any answers yet. He replied, “I thought you’re supposed to be the expert?”

“I said actually no, I consider you to be the experts because they’re your people, your ancestors and it’s your territory,” George recalled.

“You know how many years I’ve been waiting for quote unquote professionals to come in and tell me what you just told me?” he said. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

It was a defining moment for George and cemented her commitment to working directly with First Nations to help them find, reclaim and learn more about the sacred artifacts, belongings and remains of ancestors that were stolen from them. She’s now working on the Help Us Bring Our Ancestors Home project with the Chiefs of Ontario, who are calling on the Ontario government, institutions and individuals to bring sacred artifacts and ancestors home.