‘An emotional thing:’ Returning sacred objects lifts Indigenous communities
Ryan Heavy Hand had been helping First Nations bring home ceremonial objects from museums for years, but this call from an institution in Oregon was a first.
“The museum had a beaver bundle,” said Heavy Hand, referring to one of the Blackfoot people’s most sacred and ceremonially important objects.
Many institutions were reluctant for such items to leave their collections, but not this one.
“(This museum) actually phoned the tribe and said, ‘Can somebody come and pick this up? Our staff are hearing animals sounds in the storage .. where the bundle was kept.