U'mista Cultural Centre

The mandate of the U'mista Cultural Society is to ensure the survival of all aspects of the cultural heritage of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw. One of the objectives of the Society was the development of a facility to carry out the aims of the society. The present facility was opened in November of 1980. The focus of the permanent collection is the "Potlatch Collection". The potlatch was banned in Canada between 1885 and 1951. The masks and other regalia that you see here were all confiscated after an illegal potlatch in 1921. After the ban was lifted, the Kwakwaka'wakw people fought for decades for the return of their sacred regalia that had ended up in museums and private collections around the world. Most of the regalia has come home and it is shown here at the U'mista Cultural Centre and the Nuyumbalees Museum.