Collection of Kainai artifacts at the Galt

Guide Page 8

One of the largest exhibits of First Nations artifacts in Canadian history opened for viewing in the Galt Museum and archives at Lethbridge in southwestern Alberta in May.

The Kainai artifacts, originally purchased from the nearby Blood reserve, brings together a collection that was split in the early 1900s and kept in storage at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto, and the British Museum in London, England.

The Akatapiiwa/Ancestors exhibit not only brings together 250-plus artifacts that comprise the Deane-Freeman collection, but also contains photographs from a variety of archives, such as the Manitoba, Glenbow, United Church and the American Museum of Natural History.

"These kinds of collections are very rare," said Arni Brownstone, lead curator at the ROM. "Often Blackfoot material is not identified as to which division of the Blackfoot they belong to."

The artifacts were collected by Maude Dean-Freeman, whose husband Frederick issued rations on the Blood reserve from 1884 until 1901. Maude purchased the artifacts, but was limited by her meager finances as to the number of items she could buy. In total, she managed to claim 268 artifacts belonging to 91 people.

When Maude died in childbirth in 1902, her collection was purchased by Lord Minto, who had earlier struck a verbal agreement with Maude. He sold the collection to the British Museum. How a portion of that collection ended up with Victoria University, part of the University of Toronto, and was transferred to the ROM in 1912, is unclear.

The collection ended up at the Galt through the hard work of Louis Soop, a Blood member, and Wilma Wood, former executive director of the Galt and project manager. After Soop discovered the artifacts at the ROM, Brownstone told him of the collection at the British Museum. Soop, Wood and Blood Elder Rufus Goodstriker made the trip to London to see the collection. After three years of planning and fundraising, the collection finally opened at the Galt.

Another unique aspect to the collection comes in how it is displayed.

Brownstone and Wood worked with 20 Blood Elders to identify the artifacts and tie the owners of the items to today's descendents. The Elders were also consulted to determine the best way to display the objects and tell the story.

"We needed to make a vehicle that connected the names and organized the artifacts in some coherent form," said Brownstone.

That form came in the Sun Dance ceremony. The Galt's main exhibit room was set up in the Sun Dance circle, with the clans' information and artifacts positioned in tipi-shaped glass cases in a circle, claiming the same positions they would in the circle. Display cases also hold quotations from descendents of the artifacts' owners.

The exhibit is scheduled to remain at the Galt Museum until Sept. 15, but demand could see the exhibit on display until the end of December.

Lethbridge is located about two-and-a-half hours southeast of Calgary.