Manitoba museum repatriates sacred headdress to Long Plain First Nation
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE – A sacred headdress that belonged to generations of leaders of a First Nation in southern Manitoba is being returned.
The headdress first worn by the former chief of Long Plain First Nation, Frank Merrick, and passed down to other chiefs, including his son Angus Merrick, had been stored at a heritage centre.
Former chief Dennis Meeches transferred the headdress to the Fort la Reine Museum in Portage la Prairie, Man., as a way to preserve it.
This past summer, a band councillor and grandson of Angus Merrick and an executive at the National Indigenous Residential School Museum of Canada began the repatriation process.
The headdress will now be held at the residential school museum at the former site of the Portage la Prairie Indian Residential School.
The Fort la Reine Museum says institutions have a responsibility in caring for belongings that were separated from Indigenous families and nations, and that includes returning the items so they can continue their spiritual and cultural purpose.
“Across the world, we are seeing sacred items finally returning to the Indigenous Nations they were taken from. These returns are not merely symbolic — they restore a responsibility that only our people can carry,” Long Plain Chief David Meeches said in a press release Tuesday.
“Repatriation is not the end of a story — it is the beginning of healing and of restoring what was always meant to be in our hands.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2025.