The Journey Home

This chapter focusses on the Journey Home Project carried out between the Sto:lō Xyolhmet S’olhetawtxw Sq’eq’ip Committee (Sto:lō House of Respect Caretaking Committee), the Sto:lō Research and Resource Management Centre, and the Laboratory of Archaeology at the University of British Columbia. The discourse of prescription, legislation, and best practices about repatriation may imply that there is only one path and that at the end of the pathway is repatriation, journey’s end. Setting one’s sights on repatriation it is possible to forget that the journey informs the process and is as important as the end. The journey is where process is negotiated, preconceptions are challenged, and relationships are forged. Those actively engaged in repatriation are well aware that every step represents variation and potential challenges to long-held perceptions, assumptions, and understandings. Repatriation, as a process, is a potential point of entry and means by which Indigenous communities and cultural heritage institutions have the opportunity to work together, establish common ground, create relationships, and move forward towards future joint destinations.