To Honour and Respect: Gifts from the Michi Saagiig Women to the Prince of Wales, 1860

Aaniin (hello) everyone! The To Honour and Respect exhibition at the Peterborough Museum & Archives features thirteen exquisite birch bark makakoon (baskets) made in 1860 by women at what is now Hiawatha First Nation. The makakoon were made as gifts for the Prince of Wales when he visited Rice Lake Village, and are beautifully decorated with dyed porcupine quills. 

The exhibition's curators, Lori Beavis (Hiawatha) and Laura Peers, as well as the Peterborough Museum & Archives have borrowed the baskets from the Royal Collection Trust who have cared for the makakoon since 1860. The baskets are usually on display at Swiss Cottage on the Isle of Wight in England, part of Queen Victoria's family home.

The baskets are very rare examples of historic Indigenous art because we know most of the names of the women whom made the them. It's very unusual to find so many Indigenous women's names attached to items in museum collections.

When the loan crates arrived, Elder Puckwiss Johnson from Curve Lake First Nation greeted these beautiful ancestors in their own language. Chief Carr of Hiawatha First Nation then smudged them. Royal Collection Trust worked with us to ensure that such traditional care could be part of the exhibition.

We hope that as many people as possible will come and visit with the makakoon before they return to England in mid-November. We are happy to book special guided group tours for an in-depth learning experience.

There are educational resources linked to the makakoon and the Prince's visit in 1860.