All language subtitles for Stuff.The.British.Stole.S01E03.480p.x264-mSD.Eng

nothing
happened by accident.

This was orchestrated.

this is
a story about power.

our people
weren't allowed to leave.

the power, to take...

everything is
disappearing,

So the calamity is
still happening.

the spirit
of the warriors

Are waiting for
those things to come back.

and the power
to take something back.

if items were taken,
if items were given,

I don't know.

My concern is,
how can we get them

Back to their proper home?

in the days
of the british empire,

Things were taken.

They usually ended up
in museums and galleries

With polite plaques.

My name is marc fennell,

And this is
the not-so-polite story

Of how they really got there.

hello.

-Oh, hi there.
-How are you?

-I'm not too bad. Yourself?
-Nice to meet you, I'm marc.

Hi, marc. Jani.

Welcome to our camp.

This is amazing,
I've never seen one before.

You've never seen
a tipi before?

No.

jani red gun
is from siksika,

One of the nations
of the blackfoot people,

Who have lived in this part
of canada for centuries.

But it was really only
in the last few years

That jani and his family
decided to build this.

I was actually raised
in the downtown area,

Inner core of the city.

But ultimately,
when I was a kid,

I've always been
more connected to my family,

My grandparents,
my ancestral roots.

Especially this culture

-That is disappearing.
-Yeah.

There's very few people
who'll do it.

camps like jani's
used to be everywhere here.

The lands of
the blackfoot people

Once spanned across
a huge area of western canada,

And down into
the united states.

They moved seasonally,
following herds of

Their most important resource,
the buffalo.

Speaking of which...

Go ahead and stretch it out
anyway you wish.

The fur's going to be
on the outside,

Or at the bottom,
the bottom, sorry.

-You want fur on the bottom?
-Yeah.

Jani has decided
to put me to work.

He is teaching me
how to tan a hide.

Traditionally, the hide was
also used for clothing.

Some of that clothing
would be used for ceremonies,

In which case, it
would be called "regalia,"

And that is why I'm here.

The regalia of one of
the most important leaders

Of the blackfoot people,

Chief crowfoot.

Um, I wanted to ask you
about crowfoot.

He was a very special chief.

Chief crowfoot was

A really great leader
to the people.

He helped us at
a very special

And unique time
in our history.

but, when it comes to

The regalia of chief crowfoot,

There is a problem.

Some say it was stolen.

all I know

Is chief crowfoot's regalia

Is in a place
it does not belong.

that place is here.

For almost 150 years,

Chief crowfoot's regalia
has been held

By the royal albert
memorial museum

In exeter.

His bow, a blade,

A sacred war shirt,

Somehow ended up

Thousands of kilometres away

From blackfoot lands.

And their journey is
shrouded in mystery.

So who actually was crowfoot?

Why is he considered
so important?

And most importantly,

Why would somebody
want his stuff?

I'm on my way to meet someone

Who has dedicated his life

To blackfoot history
and knowledge.

I'm marc, by the way.
It's nice to meet you.

-Marc. Kent.
-Kent.

kent ayoungman
sits on the council

Of siksika nation.

One of the reasons why
I wanted to talk to you is,

I'm trying to understand
who crowfoot was.

He was the leader
of the moccasin clan.

There was a whole governance
system amongst each clan

Amongst the blackfoot people,

And people were put there

On how they had the ability
to protect their people

And to bring fortune,
to bring good things.

Crowfoot isapo-muxika,

He had a relationship
with the newcomers,

The early white people.

And due to that
relationship,

They trusted him to be,

Kind of that main spokesman
for the blackfoot people.

so, crowfoot is
a leader, is a diplomat,

And has some kind of
relationship

With the white settlers.

But would he give them
something like a war shirt?

Just how important were
these items to crowfoot?

- hello.
- oh, hello.

-How are you?
-Yeah, good to see you.

that is why I'm here.

Siksika elder
clarence wolfleg

Believes that
there is something

About crowfoot's clothing

That's been overlooked.

You have to attain the respect

And qualify to wear
a shirt like that.

When warriors go into battle,

When people do honourable
and brave things,

It's, you really equate it
to the military.

The military gets
a very plain uniform,

And as they go on,

They started to put

Citations and medals,

Insignias, and ranks.

clarence was
a warrior himself

Who served with
the canadian army and the un.

And he's brought me here
to siksika's own museum

To show me that
each regalia is unique,

And it's loaded with meaning.

so the basic
warrior shirt

Has hair fringes,
special designs,

Some of the powers
of the thunder, the sun,

They carry all those
into battle.

So, for example,
on crowfoot's regalia

Is actually the tail
of a weasel.

So the weasel is
a very cunning

And courageous animal.

So they use the weasel tail

To take the spirit
of the animal

To the battlefield
to have courage.

So that's why that shirt's
very important.

so for years,
the museum in britain

Refused to return
crowfoot's regalia.

But, they did invite
a blackfoot delegation

To view
chief crowfoot's belongings,

And kent ayoungman was there.

So, they had everything ready
for the group to view,

And they had that cloth
over those items.

So when we all walked in,

We stood there,
and then...

It was quiet.

And when they unrolled
that cloth,

There was emotion.

Some of the older folks,
they got emotional.

And to think about these items

Being worn by crowfoot
at one point in time.

I kind of start to get
goose bumps, eh?

I felt honoured, really.

How did crowfoot's items,
his war shirt,

How did they get over
to the uk?

Well, as far as I know,

Nobody really knows.

Would he have given up
something so sacred?

I don't think so.
I don't think so.

crowfoot's
regalia somehow

Made its way
from here in canada

All the way
to a museum in the uk.

But that museum itself
does offer some clues

As to how this all happened.

When you go
into the records

Of the royal albert
memorial museum,

The place which has housed
crowfoot's regalia

For well over a hundred years,

There's actually a report
back from 1878

Of a woman loaning them

What we now know to be
crowfoot's regalia.

But the interesting part
is this.

She reckons it came
from her brother.

A guy who has
a very interesting history

Here in canada.

A guy by the name
of cecil denny.

So, who was this cecil denny
guy, and how did he end up

In what is now
modern-day alberta, canada?

Well, to find out,
I've come to fort calgary,

Not far from siksika,

To meet allison graham.

Hey, welcome to fort calgary.

-Thank you for having me.
-Yeah.

allison is a historian
and programme manager

Here at fort calgary.

Fort calgary is
a museum right now.

But historically,

It was north-west
mounted police fort,

Founded in 1875 on this site.

and the
north-west mounted police

Are instrumental to this story.

So at this point,

Canada was a dominion,

This jigsaw piece

Within the global
british empire.

But it's also
a huge jigsaw piece,

Millions of kilometres.

The north-west mounted police
were sent by the government

To establish law and order
for the new settlers.

And that is where
cecil denny comes in.

he was born
in England,

And once he was here,

He was a fairly
high-level person

For the
north-west mounted police.

he came on
the March west

Where the government
started doing treaties

With the indigenous people
for access to land,

And in blackfoot territory
it was called treaty no. 7.

Now, that document
features signatures

Of both cecil denny
and chief crowfoot.

So could it be

That crowfoot somehow
gave his regalia

To cecil denny at this point?

it is
a bit of a mystery.

I don't have
such a clear understanding,

But it's possible that
he received crowfoot's regalia

At the signing of the treaty
or shortly thereafter.

There's ideas that
crowfoot and denny

Were best friends.

You know, really close.

Where do
we get that idea from?

We get that idea from

The north-west mounted
police themselves.

-Right. Okay.

Cecil denny himself
wrote a lot about himself.

And so his memoirs share
a lot of information,

But we have to take that
with some caution, right?

They were diplomats,

They were negotiating
different sides.

So, it could have been
technically a "gift,"

But it's hard to know
what that gift

Actually would've meant
to crowfoot and to denny.

so we know that
the regalia gets to the uk

Via this guy named cecil denny.

The question is how?

Well, it seems like it happens
in the midst

Of a major event,

An event that has drastically
reshaped this land.

So, where are we?

Well, we're overlooking
the area

Where the blackfoot people
signed treaty 7.

dr gabrielle lindstrom

Is a researcher and member
of the kainaiwa nation,

Which is another of
the blackfoot nations.

so imagine,
we've got camps

Of hundreds of people,

And so there was lots of
ceremony that was happening.

Lots of praying.

You know, lots of dialogue.

This is serious business.

Very sacred times.

Because the future
of our people was at stake.

What was leading up to
the signing of that treaty?

What were the circumstances
that led to it?

The events leading up to
the signing of the treaty

Really coincide with,

With the opening up
of the west.

New settlers are
encroaching more and more

On these territories,

And contact initially
brought disease,

Particularly smallpox.

The dead were so numerous

That people didn't even
have time to mourn.

Another thing that hit us hard

Was the intentional
slaughter of buffalo

To ensure that first nations
didn't have access to food.

It's literally impossible

To carry on
the previous way of life.

Like, you can't.

this was the situation
facing chief crowfoot

And all the other
indigenous leaders

Here in this valley

As they weighed up the prospect

Of a treaty with the crown.

when our people
were camped here

Along this valley,

The government had
their military

Camped up on the hill,

And they had cannons,

And they were
shooting off those cannons

Every so often

Just to kind of demonstrate

Their military might to,
to our people, I guess.

You have our leaders
who are wanting to ensure

The survival of our people.

And so you enter into a treaty
with the canadian government,

Or our people continue to die.

So that was what was happening

At the time of
the signing of treaty 7.

sign, and the blackfoot
become british subjects,

With the queen, no less,

Promising annual payments
and education.

No one knows exactly how

Crowfoot's regalia
is handed over,

But less than a year after
this treaty 7 is signed,

It is in the uk.

And it's possible that denny

Purchased it from crowfoot,

But really,

It's kind of a matter
of opinion here.

Well, from my understanding
of the history,

Sir cecil denny,

He was gifted it
by crowfoot himself.

I guess I got to just take
that one with a grain of salt.

You know, we don't really know,

But that's just according
to their records,

That's what they say.

My reaction to that is,

That's just an absolute
load of horse shit.

That's my reaction.

That just completely
angers me.

But that's the settler
colonial narrative.

But, the thing
about our people,

-We're generous.
-Mm.

If people admire something
that somebody's wearing,

Well, they'll take it off them
and give it to that person

Who admires these.

To call that a gift is,

It's infuriating to me

Because that belongs
to the blackfoot people.

That belongs to siksika.

That belongs in the community.

so,
at the core of this

-Is a question for me, right?
-Mm.

We have crowfoot's regalia

That at the very moment
sits in the uk,

And there's at least three

Different possibilities
that are put to me.

One is that it's a gift.

One is that it was stolen.

And the other,
that it was purchased.

What's the most
plausible to you?

Can it be a combination
of all three?

Yeah, I mean, I guess so.

I mean, I think even if we go

With the gift theory,

It was a gift
to seal something

That ended up being dishonest

On the part of
the canadian government.

So, even if it was a gift,

There's that coercive element
there as well.

and that's
really the thing.

Whatever happened
with the exchange

Of crowfoot's regalia,

It sits in the shadow

Of a far darker handover.

For blackfoot people,
treaty 7 was not what it seemed.

in terms of
what the british,

What the canadian government
are trying to do,

Is it's basically for them

Wanting to get
indigenous people

To surrender their land.

It was all about
negotiating a treaty

That was not meant
to really benefit

Indigenous people at all.

And cecil denny and the
north-west mounted police

Would've known that.

when you're
standing here on this ground,

It's impossible
not to put yourselves

In the shoes of the people
that were here.

When they signed that treaty,

Could they possibly have known

Everything that would flow
from this moment?

With agreements like treaty 7
and other government policies,

What flows is a profound
and devastating shift

In blackfoot lives.

shortly after
the signing of that treaty,

Our people were
pretty much corralled

On this strip of land here.

Our people weren't
allowed to leave.

Indigenous people
didn't drive themselves

Into states of poverty
that we find ourselves now in.

You know,
this was orchestrated,

The orchestrated destruction
of a culture,

Beginning with the disease

And culminating in
the treaties

And then the implementation

Of the indian
residential schools

And those policies
of genocide.

And that is something
that is still ongoing today.

residential schools
for indigenous children

Have left incredible scars
on this land.

I was put
in a residential school

When I was three years old.

we talked about
physical abuse,

Psychological abuse,

Of course, sexual abuse.

we have hit

751 unmarked graves.

Too many children
did not make it home.

Today, answers
still are needed.

Some of the buildings
where this took place

Still stand today.

this is the old sun
indian residential school.

Today, it's the old sun
community college.

My mother went to this school.

My aunties and uncles

All went to this place here.

They were taken
from their homes

And put into
these types of places

To "educate" our people.

my grandparents,

They went through
residential school.

They were abused severely
and oppressed

Where their culture
was viewed down upon.

it stopped

Our ceremonial way of life,
our language,

Everything what it is
to be a blackfoot indian.

'cause they were trying
to assimilate our people.

they literally
went against

Everything that we identified,

Everything that
we belonged to.

Because of that,
I think a lot of the elders

And a lot of the people
are ashamed

And kind of shunned
away from it.

That's why I'm trying my best

To preserve that culture

Because it is disappearing.

we're still healing.

There's been slow recoveries,
but there's...

I think we still have
a long ways to go.

Mm.

The way I look at it is,

Any ceremonial items
we bring back to our community,

We're bringing more
of who we are

Back to the siksika people.

when so much
has been taken,

The fight to get
crowfoot's regalia

Back to siksika

Is part of a healing process
for a community.

well, marc,
welcome to siksika nation.

This is our council chambers.

If items were stolen,
if items were taken,

If items were given,
if items were sold,

I don't know.

I don't know
how they got over there.

I'm not concerned
how they got over there.

My concern is,
how can we get them back

To their proper home?

ever since he took up
the position of blackfoot chief,

Ouray crowfoot has made
the return of the regalia

One of his goals.

I sit in this
chief's chair right here,

And right behind me is,
over my left shoulder,

Is my
great-great-great grandfather,

Issapoomahksika, which is
crow indian bigfoot,

Translates to crowfoot.

We're here because
of the decisions

That were made from our
previous chiefs,

Our previous leaders,

And we got to
keep that in mind

For the future generations.

So when we make
these decisions,

How does it not just
impact siksika today,

But how's it going to
impact siksika

For generations to come?

when he
took the role,

Years of negotiations

Between that uk museum

And people here in siksika

Had ground to a halt.

But then...

I had a phone call with exeter.

And I told them,
"give it back to siksika.

It's our items. You know,

That's my great-great-great
grandfather's items.

We need those things
back at siksika."

Negotiations culminated in
a historic moment today

When an exeter museum
handed back

Parts of its collection

To a delegation from canada.

After ouray's call,

Exeter city council,
who own the uk museum,

Actually had to vote

On whether to return
the items.

After a unanimous
vote, chaired,

And the resolution
has been carried.

and today,

For the first time
in over 140 years,

Crowfoot's regalia
is coming home.

what does it mean,
to have those gifts back here?

I believe, you know,
the spirit of the warriors,

The spirit of
the gifts that came,

Even though their home
has been placed someplace,

The spirits are waiting for
those things to come back.

now, it's up to us

To bring this way back
to our family,

Our way of life.

To raise our children with...
.

Our songs, our sun dance,

And our ceremonies
throughout the year.

what makes you proud?

Being blackfoot
makes me proud.

And the fact that
we're still here.

These regalia, these items,

They're so deeply connected
to blackfoot identity.

They need to be back

Because they give our people
our strength,

And they allow us
to be connected

With those long-time
knowledges and protocols

That shape who we are today
as niitsitapi people.

Being blackfoot,
it's an honour,

An absolute honour,
and a gift.