Stuff the British Stole: Nov 29

This week on Stuff the British Stole Marc Fennell learns whether a chief of Canada’s Blackfoot people gifted his regalia to a local Mounted Policeman and whether items may ever be returned.

When is a gift not really a gift? And when is a fair deal not really all that fair?

Crowfoot, a Chief of Blackfoot nation, negotiated one of the most controversial treaties in Canadian history – Treaty No. 7. Crowfoot was once a chief of the Blackfoot people in what is now Canada. Somehow his personal regalia – indeed the very shirt off his back – ended up in a museum in Exeter in the UK.

Along with his bow and blade, his sacred war shirt changed hands amidst the negotiating of the treaty that would alter the lives of millions. But some transactions aren’t all they seem as the Blackfoot people soon discovered.
Marc takes you to Siksika Nation in Alberta, Canada and sits down with experts and nation leaders to ask the questions: who was Chief Crowfoot, how did his regalia end up thousands of miles from home, and how did his treaty negotiation shape the future for the Blackfoot people?

The people Marc encounters paint a picture of Crowfoot as a proud leader in a turbulent time. A time in which many questionable treaties were being negotiated with the oncoming British settlers. Some suggest Chief Crowfoot gifted his regalia to a local Mounted Policeman. Others say it was purchased. But was it stolen? And will those sacred items ever be returned?

As The Crow Flies, ultimately, is a story about power. The power to take and the power to take something back.

8pm Tuesday on ABC.