Chief Poundmaker’s staff returned to his family

Parks Canada returned a staff that once belonged to Chief Poundmaker to his family on Wednesday during a ceremony in Battleford.

“It’s an honour to do the right thing, to bring his personal belongings, his sacred artifacts, his objects home so he can rest,” Pauline Poundmaker, one of the chief’s great-great-granddaughters, told reporters. “His spirit can rest.”

Chief Poundmaker is considered one of the great Indigenous leaders of the 19th century and was key in negotiations that led to Treaty 6, which covers the west-central portions of present-day Alberta and Saskatchewan.

He’s also remembered as a peacekeeper during the North-West Resistance of 1885. In 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau exonerated the chief, who had been convicted of treason for leading his warriors in battle against Canadian forces.

Parks Canada had the staff in its care as part of a collection of historical objects.

Chief Poundmaker’s family members have been striving to bring home his personal belongings, which they say were taken from him under duress. Pauline Poundmaker had asked Parks Canada to return the staff to the family.

“In our culture, all objects have life,” she said Wednesday. “There’s power to these objects. That’s why these artifacts don’t belong in museums.”

— With files from The Canadian Press