Grand chief requests halt to auction of Hudson's Bay items linked to First Nations

Chief wants to halt HBC sale

Photo: The Canadian Press

The royal charter which launched Hudson's Bay Company, issued by King Charles II in 1670, is shown in an undated handout image.

As Hudson's Bay heads to court seeking permission to auction off 1,700 pieces of art and more than 2,700 artifacts, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is requesting a halt to the sale of items that may be belong to or be linked with First Nations people.

A letter by assembly Grand Chief Kyra Wilson to the court-appointed monitor for Hudson's Bay says there is "deep concern" over the potential auction of artifacts from its collection because many of the items are likely "of profound cultural, spiritual, and historical significance to First Nations people."

It is still unclear what specific artifacts could be included in the auction beyond the 355-year-old royal charter that launched the company.

But Wilson says selling those items without consulting First Nations would "represent a continuation of the colonial dispossession of First Nations’ lands and belongings that the HBC directly profited from for centuries."

Hudson's Bay announced Wednesday it will liquidate all its remaining stores and has previously said an auction "is the most transparent, fair and efficient approach to monetize the art collection while recognizing and protecting its cultural and historical significance."

Others have asked the company to transfer its 1670 royal charter to a public archival institution such as the Archives of Manitoba to ensure its preservation rather than risk it being sold to a private buyer.