 The archaeological heritage of the W8banaki Nation 
The Ndakina Office of the Grand Conseil de la Nation Waban-Aki has developed a protocol for the management of the W8banaki Nation’s archaeological heritage. This protocol is a response to past and present mismanagement of archaeological material on the Nation’s ancestral territory. In this article, we present the challenges faced by the Office, illustrated by three cases studies: 1) the limitations of repatriation of objects located on the American portion of the Nation’s ancestral territory; 2) the issue of amateur archaeologists and private collections; 3) the case of the repatriation of a collection from a W8banaki burial site. These examples lead us to assert that the life of objects continue well beyond their abandonment in the ground. Although their museumification may constitute their social death, a symbolic life persists as these material objects become vectors of restitution, resilience, and symbolic reconstruction. These objects carry knowledge and are central to community and individual identity (re) construction and healing. Moreover, in the specific context of First Nations, they play a crucial mediating role and are subject to various forms of politicization. Through the recent experience of the W8banaki Nation with repatriation, this article attempts to demonstrate that objects can be simultaneously instrumentalized for various purposes. It is in this context that the recent and growing efforts to repatriate archaeological and ethnological materials are taking place, a concept that must be considered with great vigilance.