RAMM meets Blackfoot representatives

RAMM is involved in a multi-partner project. Funded by The Leverhulme Trust’s International Network Grant.

The project is led by Dr. Alison Brown, University of Aberdeen. Dr. Anita Herle, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (CUMAA), University of Cambridge is the other UK museum partner.

The project’s objective is to bring together Blackfoot nations representatives of Canada and the USA with museum curators in the UK who care for Blackfoot items; specifically the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) and RAMM.

This called for the sharing of information concerning acquisition history, the cultural artefacts themselves and advice pertaining to their care. RAMM holds material from a time when Canada was becoming a nation. This was a period of treaty signing and Exeter’s material is associated with the signing of Treaty 7 in 1877 between the Crown, the Blackfoot nations, Sarcee and Atsinas nations[1].

The two key donors to Exeter were Cecil Denny, a then member of the North West Mounted Police and later an Indian agent, and Edgar Dewdney, a politician and Lieutenant Governor of the North West Territories. These two men participated in the upheaval that transformed the lives of the First Nations peoples in the frontier world of North America.

In the final part of this two-year project, curators from the Cambridge and Exeter museums disseminated their project findings through papers and lectures from March 2015. RAMM has also involved itself in discussions with Blackfoot (Siksika) elders concerning the possible return of Crowfoot’s regalia to Bow Crossing, Alberta. Denny obtained this important regalia from Crowfoot himself who continues to have great meaning for the Blackfoot (Siksika) today.

A trip to Cambridge Museum by Tony Eccles, RAMM’s Curator of Ethnography, in March 2015 helped provide a significant step forward in the discussions on repatriation. Piikani ceremonial leader Allan Pard and Charlene Wolfe are elders for some of the Blackfoot ceremonial societies. They were visiting the Cambridge museum to examine and offer an interpretation for a collection they hadn’t seen before. Allan Pard is currently serving as Senior Advisor to the Department of Aboriginal Relations for the Government of Alberta and it was in this capacity that RAMM’s curator was able to learn more about Blackfoot culture and the official process for return.

It is now known that Denny’s donated items shall be involved in the repatriation. This is because they are directly associated with Chief Crowfoot. The regalia is a collection of items that serve as emblems of Crowfoot’s earned authority and status as leader. This includes a ceremonial buckskin shirt, a pair of leggings, a ceremonial knife, a quirt, and two pouches.

Strictly speaking Crowfoot was not the ruler of the Blackfoot nations. However, Crowfoot was acknowledged and respected as one who could speak for all. The Crown misinterpreted this and believed Crowfoot to be the leader of all Blackfoot nations, which he clearly wasn’t. In an attempt to secure a peaceful future for the Blackfoot, Crowfoot advised the other Blackfoot leaders to sign Treaty 7. Many Blackfoot considered this act as the wrong decision, but what other choice did the Blackfoot have? The alternative was to have gone to war. This would have culminated in a greater tragedy than that already experienced by the Blackfoot.

When Treaty 7 was signed the Blackfoot became subjects of the Crown and their way of life was forever transformed. Like many other cultures exposed to colonialism, this transformation was not a positive one. This carries on to the modern day, descendants of these cultures still feel this trauma. An act of repatriation would certainly begin a process of healing. Such an act is also needed for educational purposes, physical access to the collection can be beneficial to many audiences.

A discussion with Allan Pard led to understanding that the regalia therefore includes more than the decorated shirt and leggings. It also includes a ceremonial knife, two pouches, the bow-case and quiver, bow and arrows, two quirts and the necklace. The interpretation to one of the pouches revealed it to be a divination kit. Crowfoot either purchased it or someone gave it to him. This interpretation was never present in the original collection inventory. The inventory listed the item simply as a ‘pouch’.

Early museum inventories often lacked an understanding into another culture’s things. This is just one example of how engagement with First Nation communities can be extremely positive with benefits for all. A list of items considered for return and a list of items RAMM will continue to care for is currently under negotiation. What is important is that the Blackfoot (Siksika) and Exeter relationship remains active for the long term.

Notes

[1] This was first noted in the Museum Sub-Committee Minutes 1870-9, 3 June 1878

“…curator reported that the Miss Denny wished to place on loan in the museum a very handsome dress purchased by her brother from the Principle Chief of the Blackfeet Indians at Bow River, North America…”

[2] Relationships that develop to enable an act of repatriation are rarely maintained when the act is completed. Exeter would like to ensure that the relationship with the Blackfoot nation continues. Exeter would like to continue caring for some items from this collection so that this colonial tale can be told through two equal voices.