Advertisement

5 charged after recovery of powwow regalia stolen from Alberta family in Saskatoon

Most of an Alberta family's valued powwow regalia has been recovered and five people have been charged, after the regalia — including custom-made jingle dresses — was stolen in Saskatoon late last month.

The regalia — including jingle dresses, moccasins and scarves — was reported stolen to Saskatoon police on Oct. 30.

Tanya Eagle Speaker, her husband and their two daughters, who are from the Blood Reserve in Alberta, were visiting Saskatoon for a powwow. While heading home on Oct. 30, Eagle Speaker and her husband stopped for food on 22nd Street W.

When they got back to their pickup truck, they found of their windows broken and their luggage, which contained the regalia, missing.

The Saskatoon Police Service's pawn detail began investigating, and emailed photos of the stolen items to local pawn shops, according to a Wednesday news release from Saskatoon police.

They received a call from a pawn shop telling them a man had indeed tried to pawn two of the stolen jingle dresses just hours after the Oct. 30 theft.

Some of the items were recovered within the first few days of the investigation. The remaining jingle dresses were found in a Saskatoon residence on Avenue N S., just south of 22nd Street W., on Tuesday.

The only item that has not been found is a beaded belt, police said.

A 35-year-old man is charged with theft over $5,000. A 38-year-old woman and three other men — ages 21, 30 and 50 — were each charged with possession of stolen property under $5,000.