A horned head-dress with an eagle feather trailer in the collection of Marischal Museum is to be returned to the Blood Tribe in Canada. The head-dress was identified by members of the Blood Tribe during a visit to Aberdeen in November last year, after which they submitted a request for its repatriation.
Every summer members of the Blood Tribe's Horn Society conduct a ritual Sun Dance. For many years they have had three head-dresses and have been searching for the fourth, which was known to have been lost and which was thought to have gone overseas.
Marischal Musuem has cared for the head-dress since the 1930s. It had been purchased along with a number of other items from the North American Plains in the 1920s by an Aberdeen woman. At this period a number of sacred items went missing from the Plains, which should not have been sold. Unfortunately, very little was known about the head-dress and it has not been on display in the museum for many years. Unlike some other repatriation claims, there was no dispute that the University of Aberdeen was the legal owner.
An expert panel set up by the University, including representatives from other museums in Scotland and Canada, considered the request carefully. They agreed that it was the head-dress for which the Blood had been searching and that it was of fundamental spiritual significance to them.
At a ceremony to be held in Marischal Museum on Monday 7 July, ownership of the head-dress will be transferred to the Blood Tribe's Mookaakin Cultural and Heritage Foundation, after which it will be taken to Canada. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Blood Tribe and the University will also be signed to help develop the links that have now been established.
The University has agreed not to make a replica or to publish photographs of the head-dress as the creation of multiple copies of sacred items is alien to the traditional Blood way of life and is seen as dangerous and offensive to themselves and to the Creator. In return, the Blood Tribe will put together a collection of material to represent their way of life and will present this to the University next year.
Neil Curtis, Senior Curator of Marischal Museum said, "Unlike many repatriation requests, this has been marked by understanding and friendship on both sides and has had a very positive outcome for us all. The museum has learnt much more about the head-dress and traditional life on the Plains. I hope that the museum's care of the head-dress has contributed to the strengthening of Blood cultural traditions and that its return will be the beginning of new links between Aberdeen and one of the First Nations of Canada."
Randy Bottle, a member of the Horn Society, said, "We are very fortunate to have located another one of our sacred bundles. This will ensure that future generations can continue the practices and teachings, which are important to our people. We have developed a very positive relationship with the Museum and will be working with the Museum to strengthen the appreciation of our culture in Scotland."
Marischal Museum lies in the University of Aberdeen's Marischal College, the second-largest granite structure in the world. The Museum - one of the oldest in Scotland - was founded in 1786, with material that has been donated by generations of friends and graduates of the University. This has resulted in collections of high quality material, most notably non-Western ethnography, Egyptian and Classical antiquities, Scottish prehistory and numismatics, that rank alongside the largest and most important in Scotland. Today, the care of these collections is enhanced by a purpose-built conservation laboratory.
The Museum has an excellent track record of ensuring that its collection are used to inspire and educate a wide range of visitors through innovative exhibitions, evening lectures, an award-winning schools service, a young archaeologists club, resources for higher education and support for researchers. The Museum is open free to the public Monday to Friday 10am-5pm and on Sundays 2-5pm.The University has seven museum collections of national and international importance, each one ranking amongst the finest in the country. They are used for teaching and research at all levels.
The Blood Tribe is part of the Blackfoot Confederacy and their Reserve is in southern Alberta, in Canada, close to Montana, USA. The modern border between Canada and the USA runs through the middle of the traditional territory of the Confederacy.
Issued by Public Relations Office, External Relations, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen. Tel: (01224) 272014 Fax: (01224) 272086. Contact: Emma Darling