For the Hamilton and Sayers families, the two cedar masks depicting male and female serpents and known as hinkeets to the Hupacasath culture of Vancouver Island were among the most sacred of possessions.
Accompanied by shawls and even a specific dance, the masks were born of royal roots and for more than 100 years had been passed down the generations for their safekeeping - until they were sold, unbeknownst to family members at an auction at the beginning of November.
The families say one of their own, a relative entrusted with their safekeeping, was behind the sale, and now they're pleading with whoever might have bought them for a chance to negotiate their return.
The family member responsible for the masks was out of the country and could not be reached for comment.
"These things are considered to be some of our very highest property, and they would be covered by our very highest laws, and those laws have consequences to them," said Wawmeesh G. Hamilton, a member of the Hupacasath First Nation and a journalist.
"So it's an egregious offence."
Hamilton said the masks sold for about $4,000 and $22,500 at the auction, a sale he learned about when he was tipped off by a cousin who attended the same event.
Judith Sayers, a former elected chief for the Hupacasath who lectures in law and business at the University of Victoria and is a first cousin of Wawmeesh, said she tried but was unsuccessful in getting the masks removed from bidding or even finding out who bought them.
The auctioneer, Seahawk Auctions, declined to comment.
The masks originated with the Ucluelet First Nation on the west coast of Vancouver Island
"Only members of chiefs' families could use these things," Hamilton said.
"They were considered a very high and sacred item."
So sacred were the masks that they were used infrequently, and only during potlatches, memorials and naming ceremonies, said Hamilton, who noted protocol even dictates how they were to be stored.
Hamilton said the masks were part of his grandmother's dowry when she married and moved inland to the Alberni Valley at the beginning of the 20th century. He said his grandmother also held the title Hakuum, which means queen or monarch.
The masks, he said, were handed down to his mother, Jessie Hamilton, who died in 2008, before they were again passed on.
Hamilton said the family is willing to trade a set of replica masks for the originals if they can find the buyer and if that person is willing to sell.
He said he hopes the masks can be repatriated.
"Right away, when this happened, I viewed them in the same manner that I did my mother's death," he said. "I didn't want her to die, and I didn't want her to leave this Earth, but she did.
"And I had to carry on. We have to carry on."
