A conservator of First Nations descent contrasts and compares Native and Euro-North American cultural viewpoints with regards to repatriation, concepts of cultural retention, oral and written records, perceptions of time and history, and preservation of objects. Conservation ethics and practice and Native traditional approaches to and protocols for objects preservation are examined. Sacred/secret and other culturally significant pieces (such as wampum belts and medicine bundles) are discussed regarding traditional Native beliefs, ceremonialism, and care, as well as in relation to how a non-Native conservator should treat them. An analogy is drawn between preventive conservation and Native traditions of restricted access and use, practices of ritualized care, maintenance, and containerization.