Sacred Teepee Cover Returning to Kawacatoose First Nation After a Century at Smithsonian

A significant piece of First Nations heritage is returning to Saskatchewan after being held by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., for 100 years. The repatriation of a painted teepee cover stolen from Kawacatoose First Nation in 1926 marks a major milestone for the descendants of its original owner, Sîpiskwêsîkan, who was also known as Dustyhorn. The discovery was made by Andrew Miller, a professor of Indigenous studies at the First Nations University of Canada, while he was researching birds in the Smithsonian’s digital catalogue. He identified the item, which was acquired by the museum in 1926 and labelled as belonging to Dustyhorn. Miller subsequently contacted Cory Dustyhorn, the current chief of Kawacatoose First Nation, to share the finding. Chief Dustyhorn confirmed the item’s history through oral accounts passed down through his family for generations. The family maintained the story of how Sîpiskwêsîkan was promised payment for the cover but never received it. The Smithsonian verified the claim after Chief Dustyhorn correctly identified that the collector had begun their expedition in Alaska before travelling to Saskatchewan—a specific detail held within the family’s history that matched the museum's acquisition records. The Smithsonian stated that the return aligns with its ethical returns policy adopted in 2022, which acknowledges that certain items were collected under standards that would not be acceptable today. During the 1920s, Indian Agents often acted as intermediaries in these unethical transactions. Chief Dustyhorn said the return of the heirloom will strengthen the spiritual and cultural connection between his ancestor and the modern community. While Kawacatoose First Nation plans to eventually build its own museum to house the cover, the artifact will be temporarily cared for by the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina upon its return.