Two talking sticks that had been on display in the Terrace city hall council chamber for decades have been returned to their place of origin on the mid-coast of B.C.
Terrace mayor Sean Bujtas personally delivered the cultural items to the Dzawada̱ʼenux̱w First Nation in the remote Kingcome Inlet village of Gwayi on Oct. 3, 2024.
Chiefs, elders and residents of the village of less than 100 people gathered in the communal hall known as "the big house" for speeches and a feast marking the occasion.
"It was a very big honour to participate in the return home of the talking sticks," said Bujtas.
"They seemed to take on more presence in the big house, surrounded by other carved pieces and by their people. You could really feel the sticks were back where they belonged, home."
The story of the talking sticks in Terrace dates back to 1964 when they were donated by two local lumber companies to the city upon the opening of the current city hall.
They were meant to symbolize the nature of city hall and council chambers as a place for discussion and decision. It is not clear how they came into the possession of the two local lumber companies.
In 2016, then-city councillor Michael Prevost suggested the city look into the origins of the talking sticks with the idea they should be returned to their home community as an act of reconciliation.
It wasn’t until 2023 that a chance encounter connected the Dzawada̱ʼenux̱w with city officials and it wasn’t until this spring that the origin of the talking sticks was confirmed.
"The people who welcomed the sticks back were the hereditary chiefs but everyone at the big house witnessed their return and was a part of receiving them back," said Bujtas.
Bujtas spoke as did Marianne Nicolson, a Dzawada̱ʼenux̱w curator, artist, and knowledge holder who coordinated the return of the talking sticks.
Speakers expressed their hope that the sticks would be the first of many to be brought back to the village, Bujtas added.
Nicholson presented Bujtas with a framed archival image of one of the talking sticks, books of historical images, commemorative plates, t-shirts, and Indigenous puppets for the mayor's two children.
Bujtas's family accompanied him and while the city paid his expenses, he covered those of his family.
