Hand stolen from totem pole outside MMFA has been returned

The hand is back.

Part of a totem pole that stands in front the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the hand was left outside the museum's doorstep overnight Tuesday with a note of apology, according to a news release issued by the MMFA.

It had been missing for almost two weeks. As it turns out, the people who took it were "not in a sober state of mind" at the time.

The museum provided excerpts of the letter in its news release.

"We had no idea what the totem pole was. After we realized what this stood for and represented for so many people, we immediately felt sick to our stomach," it says.

"We are sorry, so sorry for any pain and anger we have caused."

Kwakiutlartist Charles Joseph, a residential school survivor, created the totem pole in remembrance of those who experienced the trauma of residential schools.

"It means a lot to me," he said in an interview earlier this week.

At around 3 a.m. on Sept. 20, a person was caughton security cameras swinging fromthe left hand on the totem pole outside the museum on Sherbrooke Street in downtown Montreal.

The hand then came off, and two people were seen fleeing with the hand in their possession, said museum curator Sylvie Lacerte.

The museum had filed a complaint with police, but plans to withdraw it now that the hand has been returned.