A sacred Native American headdress has been returned to its original owners - after being displayed at a museum in Exeter for more than a century.
The Royal Albert Memorial Museum has displayed the ceremonial headdress known as a 'bird bundle' since 1920.
The headdress's origins trace back to the Blackfoot Nation of Alberta, Canada.
Featuring buffalo horns, eagle feathers, indigo bunting feathers, red-tailed hawk feathers, red trade cloth, porcupine quills and brass bells, the item was identified as a 'sacred ceremonial item' in 2013 by a delegation from the community.
The handover event of the ceremonial bird bundle took place on June 5 at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, in Exeter.
Joset Melting Tallow of the Siksika Nation said: "The ceremonial Buffalo Woman’s Headdress holds immense sacred significance to the Blackfoot people.
"Its return to Siksika Nation symbolizes not only the preservation of our cultural heritage, but also the recognition of our history and traditions, and is a profound testament to our ancestors’ spiritual and cultural practices.
"We are grateful to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum for their commitment to honouring and respecting the sacredness of this headdress by facilitating its repatriation."
The ceremonial headdress has been held at RAMM in Exeter, England since 1920, when it was handed over to the Museum by Edgar Dewdney, a Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories.
Although the exact means of acquisition is undocumented, it was likely acquired through the enforcement of colonial assimilation policy in connection to Treaty 7 and the Indian Act (the 1889 amendment to section 114).
Through meticulous and dedicated research, delegates from Siksika Nation, in collaboration with Kainai and Blackfeet Nations, identified the headdress as a sacred ceremonial item, once traditionally worn by a holy woman of the Blackfoot Holy Buffalo Woman Society known as the Motokiks.
The cultivation of a meaningful partnership with Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery has previously allowed for the repatriation of Chief Crowfoot’s regalia in 2022, and now the Buffalo Woman’s Headdress.
In September 2022, RAMM received a formal letter from the Blackfoot (Siksika) requesting an act of repatriation.
Julien Parsons, RAMM’s Collections & Content Manager said: "The return of the ceremonial bird bundle represents a significant moment in the museum’s history and our relationship with the Siksika.
"Over a century after the headdress came to RAMM, we are pleased that it will be used once more for its original purpose."
The sacred bundle is being returned to the Motokiks so that it is returned to use by the holy women who fought to protect the continuity of their culture.
Since time immemorial, the Children of the Plains, the Siksikai’tsitapi – Blackfoot People, have lived in and protected a territory that stretches from the North Saskatchewan River in present day Alberta and Saskatchewan to the Yellowstone River in the state of Montana, from the Continental Divide in the west to Regina in the province now known as Saskatchewan.
Today, Siksika Nation population is approximately 8,000 plus members and is part of the Siksikaitsitapi – Blackfoot Confederacy.
The Siksikaitsitapi refers to four Indigenous Nations which make up the Blackfoot people: the Siksika (Blackfoot), the Kainai (Many Chiefs), the Apatohsipiikani (Northern Peigan) and Amsskapipiikani (Southern Peigan). Siksikai’powahsini (Blackfoot Language) is the language of the Siksikaitsitapi.
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