Photo of Members of the Siksika delegation during handover ceremony at RAMM in May 2022/ Photo Source RAMM
A ceremonial bird bundle is coming home to the Blackfoot Nation of Siksika after being in the UK for over one hundred years.
The bundle itself is a ceremonial headdress which has ties to Blackfoot Holy Buffalo Woman Society Motokiks and is classified as sacred.
In September of 2022, a letter was sent to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery (RAMM) located in Exeter England from Siksika requesting an act of repatriation of a sacred headdress.
According to the RAMM the head dress came to the museum in 1920 undocumented and is believed it was acquired through the enforcement of a colonial assimilation policy connected to the Indian Act and Treaty 7 by Northwest Territory Lieutenant Governor Edgar Dewdney.
This is not the first time the RAMM has returned artifacts to the nation of Siksika as back in 2022, regalia of Chief Crowfoot returned to Siksika and currently resides in the Blackfoot Crossing Museum and Historic Park.
Joset Melting Tallow in a statement explains the importance of the Headdress, “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.” Tallow continues, “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.”
A delegation of Siksika’s Councilor Strater Crowfoot, Councilor Marsha Wolf Collar, Kent Ayoungman, Herman Yellow Old Woman and Joset Melting Tallow are currently at the RAMM preparing the headdress’s return through ceremony.
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