For a century, the items were part of the Vatican Museum’s ethnographic collection, known today as the Anima Mundi museum. The collection has been a source of controversy for the Vatican amid the broader museum debate over the restitution of cultural goods taken from Indigenous peoples during colonial periods. The Vatican insists the items were “gifts” to Pope Pius XI, who wanted to celebrate the church’s global reach, its missionaries and the lives of the Indigenous peoples they evangelized. “This is an important step that honours the diverse cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples and supports ongoing efforts toward truth, justice, and reconciliation,” Foreign Minister Anita Anand posted on social media. By some estimates, the original 1925 exhibition included 100,000 items from Indigenous groups around the world, of which 40,000 remain.