BATTLEFORD — Descendants of Chief Poundmaker, Parks Canada staff and media gathered at Fort Battleford May 4 for a repatriation ceremony returning a leadership staff that belonged to the famous Cree chief to his descendants and the First Nation that bears his name.
A statement from the family indicated Chief Poundmaker (Pitikwahanapiwiyin) was one of the greatest Plains Cree leaders of the 19th century. A strategic thinker, he brought nations together and strove to protect the interests of the Cree during the negotiation of Treaty 6.
A humble and honest man, Poundmaker acted as a peacemaker and sought to declare his loyalty to the Crown during the North-West Resistance of 1885. However, he was rebuffed by local officials. After the Resistance, he was convicted for treason-felony in a trial that has since been widely-criticized.
In 1967, Poundmaker’s remains were brought home from his original resting place on Siksika territory and reinterred at the site of the Battle of Cut Knife on the Poundmaker Reserve.
In 2019, the Canadian Government exonerated Poundmaker, and apologized for the trial and Poundmaker’s unjust conviction.
As the Poundmaker family continues to work to bring home the personal artifacts of Chief Poundmaker, said the family's statement, they continue to be inspired by his willingness to stand up for what he believed in, peacefully. Although they remember how many of his items were taken under duress, it has become a healing journey to bring these items home, and to have Poundmaker’s spirit come to rest.
The request for repatriation of the staff was made by Pauline Poundmaker (Brown Bear Woman). She represents the Poundmaker family who are supported by Poundmaker Cree Nation in their claim. Parks Canada supported the repatriation request in keeping with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which asserts the rights of Indigenous Peoples to practice their cultural and spiritual traditions, and to control their ceremonial items and ancestral remains, to further demonstrate reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
Pauline Poundmaker, the chief’s great-great-granddaughter stated, “Repatriation of sacred artifacts and objects is a spiritual journey and we would like to acknowledge Parks Canada for taking the lead in recognizing and understanding the significance of transferring ownership of Chief Poundmaker’s staff to our family.”
In April 1967, her mother Alma Poundmaker, great-granddaughter of Chief Poundmaker, represented the direct descendants of the Poundmaker family when they brought Chief Poundmaker home to his final resting place.
Floyd Favel, curator of the Poundmaker Museum on the First Nation stated that the repatriation of the staff has been a five-year journey.
“The ball started rolling (for repatriation) when we at the museum began the exoneration process.”
He went on to say that what came of Poundmaker’s exoneration provided the momentum toward today’s ceremony.
This week's repatriation may be one of more to come, as the great chief’s artifacts and possessions are gradually returned to his descendants, undoing an incorrectly written history, that of a criminal, and not of a great leader who sacrificed for his people — and for peace.
