Poundmaker Cree Nation celebrates return of century-old pipe bag

A pipe bag that belonged to a Plains Cree chief known as a peacekeeper has been returned to his home community in Saskatchewan, more than a century after he gave it to a chaplain at a Manitoba prison.

Chief Poundmaker, who's Cree name is Pitikwahanapiwiyin, gave the bag to a chaplain at Stony Mountain Penitentiary near Winnipeg while imprisoned for treason-felony in 1885. Poundmaker was exonerated of the charge in 2019 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

On Sept. 1, 2023, Jon Waters, the great great nephew of the chaplain, brought the bag from Vancouver Island back to the community of Poundmaker Cree Nation, 198 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

Waters said the bag had been passed down through generations, eventually to him from his mother.

While he treasured the bag, and grew up knowing it was a gift to the family, he said he wondered, 'why do I have this?'

Coming home

Waters decided to return the pipe bag to the community. He reached out to Floyd Favel, curator of the Poundmaker Museum and Gallery on the nation, and arranged the delivery.

A ceremony was held at the museum to welcome the sacred item back to the community.

"It was quite amazing, though I have to say I felt like, you know, really it was where it belonged," said Waters.

Mavis Poundmaker Billesberger, Chief Poundmaker's great granddaughter, said the pipe bag is more than 130 years old.

"You're thinking back about the history. I can envision my great grandfather sitting in a cold dank cell and a chaplain that is very kind and compassionate to him," Poundmaker Billesberger said.

A pipe bag gifted to a prison chaplain by Chief Poundmaker was returned to Poundmaker Cree Nation. (Submitted by Jon Waters)

She said the ceremony, with just a few people, was 'fitting' because there were only a handful of people present during Chief Poundmaker's funeral, and an item was returned to the community at that ceremony as well.

"It isn't just that they belong to an individual or a family or myself, being a Poundmaker, I can't say they belong to me or or my family. They belong to the community. They're cherished in the community," said Poundmaker Billesberger.

Chief Poundmaker was convicted of treason-felony after the Northwest Rebellion in 1885 even though he did not join the conflict.

During the Battle of Cut Knife in 1885, Chief Poundmaker stopped his warriors from chasing retreating Canadian forces, preventing the deaths of hundreds of troops.

"He was really a peacemaker and he went out there to keep the warriors from doing anything and actually stop them from going any further than what they did, and it was all due to hunger," said Poundmaker Billesberger.

'True reconciliation'

Poundmaker Billesberger said the community is grateful whenever somebody decides to return an item that was gifted to them. It is different from when something was stolen, or confiscated.

"You can't demand gifts back, let's put it that way. If they give it back to us, then that's, it's gratification all around."

Mavis said the bag doesn't look like it's more than 100 years old. It has been preserved nicely, with the beadwork intact. She said the beadwork is more Assinibione than Cree.

"Nowadays the word reconciliation seems to have lost its meaning. But this is true reconciliation on a human-to-human level," said Poundmaker Billesberger.

Both Waters and Poundmaker Billesberger encourage people to visit the Poundmaker Museum and Gallery to see the story of Cheif Poundmaker and the people of the community.