Ceremonial headdress to be returned to Siksika Nation after 100 years in British museum

The Siksika Nation flag flies in the breeze on the nation, 100 kilometres east of Calgary near Cluny, Alta., Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

A ceremonial headdress that has been held by a museum in England for more than 100 years is set to be returned to an Alberta First Nation.

The Buffalo Woman’s Headdress, made of buffalo horns, sacred bird feathers, porcupine quills, red cloth and brass bells will be handed back to a delegation from the Siksika Nation in Exeter, England, on Wednesday.

The headdress, known as a ceremonial bird bundle, has been held at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery (RAMM) since 1920 after it was handed over by Edgar Dewdney, a Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories.

While it’s unknown how the headdress came into the possession of Dewdney, it was likely acquired through the enforcement of colonial assimilation policy connected to Treaty 7 and the Indian Act, according to a joint press release from the First Nation and museum.

Representatives from Siksika Nation helped identify the headdress as a sacred ceremonial item, traditionally worn by a holy woman of the Blackfoot Holy Buffalo Woman Society, known as Motokiks.

“The ceremonial Buffalo Woman’s Headdress holds immense sacred significance to the Blackfoot people,” Joset Melting Tallow, of the Siksika Nation, said in a news release.

“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.

The museum received a formal letter from the First Nation in September 2022, requesting the item be repatriated.

RAMM previously repatriated Chief Crowfoot’s regalia to the First Nation in 2022.

“The return of the ceremonial bird bundle represents a significant moment in the museum’s history and our relationship with the Siksika,” Julien Parsons, RAMM’s collections and content manager, said.

“Over a century after the headdress came to RAMM, we are pleased that it will be used once more for its original purpose.”

The headdress will be presented back to the Siksika Nation in a ceremony on June 5 at the museum in Exeter.

A delegation of Siksika representatives will attend the ceremony, including councillor Strater Crowfoot, councillor Marsha Wolf Collar, Kent Ayoungman, Herman Yellow Old Woman and Melting Tallow.