Sacred headdress returned to Siksika Nation in ceremony at Exeter museum

A ceremonial woman’s headdress which was on display at a museum in Exeter has been returned to the Siksika Nation where it was originally from.

The clothing is made of buffalo horns, sacred bird feathers, porcupine quills, and adorned with red cloth and brass bells.

A delegation from the Siksika Nation travelled to Exeter to repatriate the sacred headdress to the Blackfoot tribe in a ceremony on 5 June at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM).

Julien Parsons, RAMM’s Collections & Content Manager, said: "It was a moving experience for all of us lucky enough to be present.

"The elders performed a short ceremony and then painstakingly bundled and wrapped the headdress in coloured cloth. It will travel like this back to Canada where it will return to its sacred use by the Siksika people."

The ceremonial headdress was given to the museum in 1920 by Edgar Dewdney, a Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories.

Research by Siksika Nation, in collaboration with Kainai and Blackfeet Nations, identified the headdress as a sacred ceremonial item, once worn by a holy woman of the Blackfoot Holy Buffalo Woman Society known as the Motokiks.

In 2022 a formal request was made for its repatriation.

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 symbolises 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 sacred bundle is being returned to the Motokiks so that it can be used once again by the holy women.