Tsawwassen First Nation welcomes back sacred object taken away a century ago

On Friday, nation members held a homecoming ceremony for Sqəmáθia, (pronounced skwa-MAH-thee-ah), which was flown in from the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., near Ottawa.

"It's been an emotional journey," said Tia Williams, archaeology co-ordinator for the nation. "This has been something in the works for literally generations."

Sqəmáθia is a rock sculpture of a person about a foot and a half tall, weighing about 50 pounds, she said. It's an object that can't be filmed or photographed, because it is sacred.

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In Tsawwassen lore, this figurine is a female ancestor who was turned into stone as punishment for greedily hoarding clams.

It was mislabelled for many years as a hump-backed man, but Indigenous people pointed out the protrusion on its back was actually a clam basket, Williams said.