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After a century-long absence, a stolen teepee cover will at last be returned to its rightful owners and their community in Saskatchewan.
Kawacatoose First Nation Chief Cory (Okimow) Dustyhorn consulted with the Smithsonian Institution to secure the beautiful cover his great-great-grandfather spent two years crafting.
Now, he and a few of his family members, alongside First Nations University of Canada Indigenous studies professor Andrew Miller, are making the 29-hour drive to Washington, D.C. to retrieve it.
“We started off with a pipe ceremony,” Dustyhorn told CBC News. “I went to a respected elder, and asked for a clear road ahead for us.”
When they first began trying to get the cover back, he never imagined the day would finally arrive, he said.
“It’s very emotional, because yesterday when I had a final meeting with the Canadian border agency, I just about broke down. It makes me feel good that the ones who left before me … who encouraged me to go for it, get it and bring it back home for us, they’re not here today but those are the ones I am thinking of today.”
As the eldest member of the family, Phillip Dustyhorn is also making the trip.
Growing up, he often listened to the story of the teepee as it was passed down through generations, he said.
“It’s a pretty happy feeling that we’re getting something back that was taken away from us that wasn’t paid for. So I am just happy about that.”
Miller helped the family navigate the whole process of repatriating the teepee, sitting in countless meetings and offering his support along the way.
The group will meet in person with representatives of the Smithsonian at the National Museum of the American Indian to retrieve the teepee cover, which no family member has seen since 1926.
“It feels like we’ve been working on this a lot longer than two years,” Miller said. “We’d sort of go through months of silence from the museum, and then we’d have to rattle their chain a little bit, and say, ‘Hey, we’re still on your list of things to deal with.’ So it’s been a lot of work.”
The process involved a lot of report writing and permit applications, he said.
“It’s going to feel really good to have this done.”
Miller said he’s pleased to be part of the whole journey, and can’t wait to return with the long-missed treasure.
After the group returns next week, the community plans to mark the occasion with a celebration and ceremony.
