Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Director of Culture, Leisure and Tourism.

Agreed:

RESOLVED that:-

(1)  the due diligence process carried out by the Council’s Museum Officers in establishing whether there were any rival claims to the headdress, be noted;

(2)  the Museums’ Manager and the Director of Culture, Leisure and Tourism being satisfied that the headdress was originally the property of the Siksika Nation prior to its acquisition and its ultimate transfer of the ownership to Exeter City Council and its predecessors be also noted; and

(3)  the legal ownership of the headdress be surrendered by Exeter City Council and transferred to the Blackfoot Tribal Council of the Siksika Nation.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report on the repatriation of a ceremonial headdress traditionally worn by a holy woman of the Holy Buffalo Woman Society (Motokiks), sometimes referred to as a sacred ceremonial bundle. The headdress had been confiscated during the colonial period, possibly in relation to Christianizing the native peoples and had been ultimately bequeathed to the RAMM in 1920.

In May 2022, Siksika Elders had visited Exeter in connection with the repatriation of Chief Crowfoot’s regalia, and had stressed the sacred significance of the headdress to their community and submitted a formal letter in September 2022, requesting an act of repatriation.

Particular reference was made to Exeter City Council having the legal authority for the de-accession of objects from the RAMM’s collections and for returning them to the communities from which they originate. The RAMM, in undertaking due diligence, had approached the Kainai Nation on the basis that it may have held a rival claim to the headdress and had endorsed the Siksika Nation as the rightful recipients of the headdress.

Councillors Jobson, Moore and M. Mitchell, as opposition group leaders, supported the recommendations.

The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Culture & City Centre Strategy thanked the Collections & Content Manager for a comprehensive report and ensuring the repatriation process had been undertaken correctly and appropriately. She referred to the equality impact assessment which highlighted historic inequalities and the importance of learning from it. The Motokiks sacred ceremonial bundle held an important significance to the Siksika nation and fully supported its repatriation.

Members welcomed the report and fully supported the repatriation of a ceremonial headdress.

RESOLVED that:-

(1)  the due diligence process carried out by the Council’s Museum Officers in establishing whether there were any rival claims to the headdress, be noted;

(2)  the Museums’ Manager and the Director of Culture, Leisure and Tourism being satisfied that the headdress was originally the property of the Siksika Nation prior to its acquisition and its ultimate transfer of the ownership to Exeter City Council and its predecessors be also noted; and

(3)  the legal ownership of the headdress be surrendered by Exeter City Council and transferred to the Blackfoot Tribal Council of the Siksika Nation.