Museum Caring for Items Questions His Credibility : Indian on Quest to Return Sacred Bundle

An Indian from Canada is trying to persuade the American Museum of Natural History here to return to his people a bear’s paw, a bolt of red flannel, a short piece of sweet grass and an old twist of tobacco.

The items, all wrapped in layers of cloth, are a sacred bundle to the Plains Cree Indian nation, and Jim Thunder says the bundle “has a supernatural power to guide and protect” his people.

Thunder, 39, is outraged that the bundle is “here in a museum, locked away.”

The sacred bundle was made by Chief Big Bear in the 1830s, after a spirit messenger appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to make it, according to Thunder.

At Museum for Safe-Keeping

The bundle has been stored at the museum since 1934, when it was obtained from Big Bear’s son, Horse Child, who asked the museum to keep it safely.

“I want to take it back to the Cree people in Western Canada. I am requesting that the museum grant me a full hearing,” said Thunder.

The museum, however, claims that Thunder does not represent the Cree Nation. Herb Kurz, spokesman for the Museum of Natural History, said he and other museum representatives met with Thunder last March. After investigating his claims, Kurz said, the museum decided not to give him the bundle.

Other Claims on Bundle

“We had other claims from other Cree groups saying: ‘Don’t do this because he doesn’t represent anybody,’ ” said Kurz.

Among the claims were a letter from the descendants of Big Bear asking that it not be given back.

“We do not violate the wishes of those who give things to us. The museum will not give him another meeting because it had met him before,” Kurz said.

Thunder claims that he has broad support among the Cree Nation and that there are only a few groups against him. The museum “has used a handful of critics as an excuse to keep the bundle,” he said.

Thunder said the Cree people can not benefit from the bundle’s powers unless it is returned. A ceremony including prayers and songs must be performed to “activate the spirit of the bundle,” he said.

Thunder said the museum is not taking proper care of the bundle because it has been unwrapped and left exposed.

“They have not kept it well. They have violated the code,” he said. Thunder also claims that the original transfer to the museum was invalid because Horse Child had become a Christian by the time he turned over the bundle and because “the majority of the people were not informed of it.”

Quest Began With Dream

Thunder said he began his quest after the spirit of Big Bear appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to retrieve the sacred bundle and return it to the homeland of the Plains Cree.

With a small group of supporters, Thunder set out for New York on foot from his home in Edmonton, Alberta, last September. The group ran 20 miles a day, taking six months to complete the journey of 2,706 miles.

“It is an old Cree custom to send foot runners with a message to other nations,” he said.

Thunder has been in Manhattan since his arrival March 21, writing letters to museum officials, the mayor and the Department of Cultural Affairs.

“The bundle is going home. I’m not going home without the bundle,” he said.

“It’s not even on display, it’s just sitting in a storage room,” Thunder added. “Why not return it to the people it was intended for?”

Will Let Cree People Decide

Thunder said he would return the bundle to the Cree Nation and let a council of chiefs, elders and the family clans of Big Bear decide who will keep it.