Authenticity of stone carving at Royal B.C. Museum questioned

Photo: Royal B.C. Museum

The chief of a First Nation says he has the assurance of the Royal B.C. Museum that steps will be taken to determine how a carved stone pillar was deemed an Indigenous artifact perhaps dating back to the 1800s before a local man claimed it as his creation.

Ron Sam, chief of the Songhees First Nation, said in an interview he spoke with museum CEO Jack Lohman about the pillar that was found covered in algae last July along a beach below Beacon Hill Park in Victoria.

In a statement, Lohman said the museum's Indigenous collections and repatriation department has been working closely with both the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations to review and update its policies and procedures, "particularly with respect to historic works that surface or are excavated as part of local development projects."

Sam said the museum called him on the day the 100-kilogram carving was hauled from the beach by the museum's archeology curator and two other men who used a refrigeration dolly to move it.

The pillar was recently featured on a local news station before it would be displayed, Sam said.

But doubt was cast on the find when a local artist came forward to several media outlets claiming ownership, saying he had photos of the piece he'd been carving on the beach before it disappeared.

The artist couldn't be reached for comment.

"Somewhere, somebody in the museum made the determination that yes, it's 110 per cent a First Nations artifact," Sam said.

Elders would have provided input into the find but have not been able to see it at the museum due to pandemic restrictions, he added.

"We haven't engaged First Nations elders yet because we didn't know exactly what we were dealing with," he said.

"It's in the museum's hands to work with the individual and determine how the conclusion was made."

Grant Keddie, the museum's archeology curator, did not wish to discuss the pillar.