Indigenous Council Statement to the Hudson’s Bay Company

Press Release

The Indigenous Council of the Canadian Museums Association (CMA) has sent a letter to the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) regarding its recent decision to auction off its corporately owned art and historical artifacts collection.

The letter invited the HBC to consider its long and influential history and consider how its operations were intrinsically linked to Indigenous communities. These connections, while foundational to trade and the exchange of knowledge, were also marred by significant imbalances and injustices. The statement highlights the formalization of these relationships through various agreements and treaties, including early trade alliances, the Douglas Treaties and the 1670 Royal Charter and how they relate to modern day responsibilities.

The letter highlights the importance of considering the sale of their collection against Indigenous inherent rights & treaty obligations, the directives of the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and relevant Canadian law, the Cultural Property Export & Import Act, as well as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action no. 92 on Business and Reconciliation, which reads:

92. We call upon the corporate sector in Canada to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources.

The letter urges HBC “to seize this moment not merely as a procedural step in asset management, but as a powerful act of relationship-building and reconciliation — a chance to move forward in a spirit of respect, accountability, and shared future-making.”

The CMA unequivocally supports the Council in this endeavour. This situation also exposes a critical policy gap – there are currently no UNDRIP-aligned mechanisms to ensure Indigenous communities have the first right to reclaim cultural belongings. It also highlights the chronic underfunding of public institutions, which limits their ability to acquire and steward other forms of heritage when they enter the private market. We hope to facilitate a conversation between Council members and the HBC, to best determine what may be done and how we can best support further actions that support Indigenous self-determination.

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For further information, please contact:

Rebecca MacKenzie
Director of Communications
Canadian Museums Association
communications@museums.ca

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