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. A group of First Nations leaders and advocates in Manitoba are trying to raise the funds to purchase the entire collection, and is calling for federal, First Nations and tribal…
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