A stolen Treaty 6 medal has been returned home to Red Pheasant Cree Nation, 134 years after it was taken.

The official repatriation ceremony held at the George Benson Memorial Grounds on July 4, 2019, was attended by people from across North America.

“Lots of people came to celebrate with their relations,” said Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan, Mary Culbertson.

Culbertson spoke at the event, sharing what she heard from Former Red Pheasant Chief Craig Wuttunee about how Elders felt with the medal’s return. They said they feel like they have “our heart back.”

“I had to stop talking a couple of times, it was very emotional to feel the treaty medal and the energy that was coming from it being back on the land it was taken from,” Culbertson said.

This Treaty medal was given to Chief Red Pheasant in 1876 at Fort Carlton. After his passing, the medal was removed from his body by the Indian agent who attended the funeral. The medal disappeared for decades, until a curator at the Manitoba Museum found it and a letter suggesting the theft in 2002. This started the process of getting the medal returned to its rightful owners.

Culbertson called the return historic.

“I was thankful that I got to represent a different era, but ashamed for the way the Queen’s messengers in the past behaved.”

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner offers congratulations to the Elders, leadership and the people of Red Pheasant.