The Long Road Home

F

or more than 100 years, a birch bark scroll—nearly nine feet long and inscribed with pictographic symbols—was housed at the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology. It languished

in storage for decades, its history and significance all but forgotten.

But, starting in the fall of 2015, a series of events ultimately led Andover to return the scroll to representatives of the White Earth Nation, a federally recognized Native American tribe in Minnesota—and to rekindle a relationship that had begun decades before.

by Jane Dornbusch

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Andover | Winter 2017

Ryan Wheeler

Andover | Winter 2017

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Intervening on Behalf of White Earth Nation In the early 20th century, the people of White Earth Nation, who are Anishinaabeg (more widely known as Ojibwe or Chippewa), faced a grave injustice: the tribe was being robbed of its land and valuable timber. In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Warren King Moorehead, the Peabody Museum’s first curator, to the federal Board of Indian Commissioners. In this role, Moorehead led a team of investigators who reported on the situation.

Moorehead’s investigation and subsequent testimony before Congress in 1910 and 1911 helped put a halt to the fraud and theft.

Hailed as a hero by the Anishinaabeg, Moorehead received numerous gifts of ceremonial regalia in gratitude; he brought those items back to Andover, and his sons, Ludwig and Singleton, donated them to the museum after his death.

He also received a large birch bark scroll—not as a gift, but for safekeeping.

The scroll and others like it were used in the tribal ceremonies of the Midewiwin, or Grand Medicine Society. Thought to be more than 200 years old, the scroll given to Moorehead depicts details of the Anishinaabeg origin and migration story and instructions for conducting the Grand Medicine Society’s ceremonies. According to current Peabody director Ryan Wheeler, it is considered a “master scroll.”

“It’s like their Magna Carta—really significant for their society,” says Wheeler.

At the time of Moorehead’s intervention, the tribe was in disarray, and the sacred scrolls were sent away for their own protection. But over the years, their whereabouts were forgotten. “The scroll wasn’t really supposed to be here forever,” explains Wheeler. “What was intended to happen did happen: It was here, and it was safe.”

But no one from the tribe knew it was at the Peabody, and no one at the museum knew its significance. The scrolls—and the traditions that went with them— seemed destined to fade into obscurity.

A Sacred Item Found

Top: Beaded buckskin bag Middle: Shirt of maroon calico with floral glass beadwork lapels and cuffs Bottom: Black velveteen vest with floral glass beadwork Opposite page: A photo of an unidentified Anishinaabeg man at White Earth, taken by Warren Moorehead in 1909.

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Andover | Winter 2017

“When they saw we had the scroll, they were quite excited,” he said.

Photos by Gil Talbot and Peabody Museum

The three items above are part of a complete Anishinaabeg men’s ceremonial regalia given to Warren K. Moorehead in 1909 at White Earth, Minnesota. Moorehead’s family donated the vest and associated garments to the Peabody Museum after his death in 1939.

In the fall of 2015, a professional acquaintance of Wheeler’s who was doing work with Anishinaabeg groups asked whether the Peabody had any items from the Great Lakes area. After the colleague shared the museum’s lists with the tribal members, Wheeler learned that he had a very important item in the collection.

The tribe contacted Wheeler, and in short order, arrangements were made for the scroll to be returned to White Earth Nation.

After a flurry of planning, three representatives of the Anishinaabeg tribe came to campus in December 2015 to transport the scroll to its home. Bob Shimek, Cayla Olson, and Merlin Deegan packed the precious artifact into a rented Chevy Suburban and made the 25-hour nonstop trip back to Minnesota, all the while singing to the scroll as they drove. To members of the tribe, Wheeler explains, the scroll is a living, breathing, animate entity, and, he says, “It had been without that kind of companionship for a long time.”

The return of the scroll to the White Earth Reservation was a joyous occasion.

Viewing the sacred object would ordinarily be off-limits to all but the members of the Grand Medicine Society. But, says Wheeler, “They decided it was so important, they let everyone have an opportunity to see it. People were crying and overjoyed that it had come back to the community.”

Rekindling an Old Relationship After the birch bark scroll was rediscovered, Wheeler and the museum staff began the formal process—completed at the end of May 2016—of repatriating it and returning it legally to White Earth Nation. Members of the tribe have also asked Wheeler to be involved with a committee working on plans for a cultural center and museum.

Last spring, White Earth Nation—grateful for Wheeler’s efforts—invited him to Minnesota to visit the reservation, where he attended the Big Drum ceremony (see sidebar), a rare honor for an outsider. He flew into Fargo, N.D., and drove east, headed for the White Earth Reservation, located in northwestern Minnesota.

Once there, Wheeler spent several days learning about the tribe and about the land its members call home. He heard stories of how the tribe’s land was stolen and exploited by timber companies; he joined the annual harvest of maple sap that would later be boiled into syrup. He was told of the tribe’s recent efforts at “nation building,” including the construction of a casino and a tribal college, the launching of a radio station, and more. “Even repatriation, the recovery of sacred objects stored in museums for decades, is an aspect of nation building,” says Wheeler.

The Big Drum ceremony was held on Wheeler’s last night at White Earth Nation, complete with a potluck dinner, followed by a pipe ceremony. Keller Paap, one of the ceremony leaders, told the story of the Big Drum in the Ojibwe language.

The Big Drum Ceremony of the Anishinaabeg The Big Drum religion and its attendant ceremonies were a gift of sorts to the Anishinaabeg from their neighbors, the Dakota Sioux, who created the belief system in the late 1800s and spread it, through missionary efforts, to the Anishinaabeg. Performance of the ritual is widespread in the late winter and early spring, with ceremonies almost every weekend somewhere across the region.

Each Big Drum ceremony lasts several nights and follows a traditional pattern. On the first night, the origin of the ceremony is recounted in the native Ojibwe language before participants perform a pipe ceremony, offer tobacco, and perform songs and drumming. Subsequent nights include more extensive singing, drumming, and dancing.

“Paap and Tony Treuer, another ceremony leader, then told the story of the Big Drum ceremony in English. Together, they shared the stories of religious suppression and how this didn’t change until 1978’s American Indian Religious Freedom Act,” says Wheeler.

Wheeler came away from the trip with a far greater understanding of the Anishinaabeg and the role played by the sacred scroll. He is hopeful about forging educational ties between PA and White Earth Nation. Wheeler has invited members of the tribe to travel to campus—using a NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) grant—to talk with students and faculty about some of the objects in the Peabody’s collection, and Treuer is expected to speak at an All-School Meeting in the spring. Wheeler says preliminary discussions are under way with PA’s community engagement office and the Tang Institute to set up a student trip to White Earth.

“There are lots of stories at White Earth,” Wheeler mused in an essay he wrote after his return. “Some are written on birch bark scrolls, others are found in the pages of the Congressional inquiry into fraud and deceit, and some flow in maple sap, while others float on the night air in words of Ojibwe. For us, however, perhaps the most remarkable thing is that we—Andover, Phillips Academy, the Peabody Museum—are part of the story, too.”  Andover | Winter 2017

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