Swiss collector wants thousands of Indigenous artifacts returned to communities

WINNIPEG — A Swiss collector who has amassed thousands of Indigenous artifacts says he is eager to have his collection repatriated back to the communities it has come from.

Vincent Escriba has accumulated roughly 3,500 ceremonial and traditional items, including cradleboards, sacred pipes and firearms believed to be associated with the period of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

He previously housed the items in a museum he ran in Switzerland that closed last year after Escriba decided to retire.

Escriba estimates the whole collection is valued at $12 million to $14 million, and says it is not feasible to donate it.