First Nation communities come together despite the loss of a sacred headdress

Nipissing First Nation's "sacred and ceremonial" headdress was stolen Saturday ahead of the LNHL hockey tournament but the host nation is moving forward to celebrate their culture and youth sports with other nations across Ontario.

The weekend was supposed to be a moment of celebration after a four-year hiatus the Little Native Hockey League (LNHL) tournament was to get underway. On Sunday at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, the singers and their drums are ready at centre ice, the fancy feather dancers adorned in their colours, the sacred herbs prepared for smudging, and the ice itching for skaters – but something was missing.

The ceremonial headdress of the First Nation hosting the event was stolen early Saturday morning.

“It’s a sad day for my community and it’s been hard to deal with in the last 24 hours,” said Nipissing First Nation Chief Scott McLeod.

McLeod said he had parked his vehicle outside the Sandman Signature Mississauga Hotel, where he was staying, on Friday and Saturday morning it was gone – with the sacred headdress in the back.

He said what makes it even more painful is after decades of fighting assimilation and trying to reconnect with their past his First Nation community had spent over two years constructing a ceremonial piece to accurately reflect the teachings of his ancestors using the techniques and materials that would have been available 100 years ago.

“It’s a real shame,” said McLeod.

“That was the first one probably since confederation that was a true representation of our community.”