The curator of the Poundmaker Historical Centre is shocked and saddened by a break-in that caused more than $26,000 in damage to the museum.
The thieves did not take much, but they did leave a lot of destruction behind.
The incident at the facility located on the Poundmaker Cree Nation is believed to have happened late last Thursday.
Police say the front door was broken and several display cabinets were damaged.
Some historical and cultural artifacts were damaged and a buffalo coat was stolen.
Curator Vera Kasokeo says the discovery was made last Friday morning and it was sad to see:
“All of our history is in this museum, Chief Poundmaker Historical Centre, and it is kind of sad for me to hear that because I was here since 1996 when it was opened. We never had a mishap like that, ever.”
Kasokeo says the motive appears to have been vandalism.
Chief Duane Antoine told MBC Cree language host Abel Charles on today’s Missinipi Achimowin program that it was young people from the reserve who were responsible for the crime, and that the location of the stolen buffalo coat was now known.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the RCMP or Crime Stoppers.