Fate, generosity and just plain luck have resulted in a rare find for Treaty Four First Nations.
A long lost Treaty Four medal was officially reclaimed Monday afternoon at the Regina airport.
It is one of only 21 original medals presented to each chief who signed Treaty Four on Sept. 15, 1874.
There is also quite a story behind the medal and how it found its way back home.
The medal was in a private collection but recently ended up on the auction block in London, Ontario.
Members of Treaty Four found out about the medal purely by accident and Paula Acoose and her husband artist Ray McCallum bought it for $48,000.
Paula’s sister Sakimay First Nation Chief Lynn Acoose says everything just fell into place.
“We were fortunate, of course we don’t have $40,000 lying around to purchase the medal and we were fortunate that Paula and Ray agreed to purchase it on our behalf,” she says.
Chief Acoose says the medal is the only one recovered by Treaty Four nations.
She says it holds historical and spiritual significance.
“It is a signal of the strength of our treaty that our treaty medal is coming back and it is also an affirmation of our relationship with the Crown.”
Treaty Four elders, leadership and members were at the airport when the medal arrived.
The medal was personally delivered by a representative from the auction house where it was sold.
Treaty Four nations also plan to hold a number of fundraising events to repay the cost of buying the medal.