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One Earth Farms sign historical agreement with Blood Tribe
SASKATOON, July 22, 2011 – One Earth Farms has signed a historical agriculture agreement with the Blood Tribe of southern Alberta that will bring long term training and employment to the community. One Earth Farms has been negotiating with Blood Tribe to begin a long term lease agreement with the Blood Tribe Agriculture Project (BTAP) to farm irrigated lands and to train and hire Blood Tribe members in various agriculture positions.
Fred Siemens, Vice President of Business Development of One Earth Farms and one of the negotiators that helped to guide these discussions to reach this agreement commented to the BTAP board when consensus was achieved, “One Earth Farms accepts the privilege of farming at the Blood Tribe and recognizes this signing event as vote of confidence that we will show respect for the Blood Tribe lands and people. One Earth Farms pledges to treat this opportunity with respect to earn the right to continue this relationship and to increase our participation in partnership with the Blood Tribe.”
The agreement signing was held in conjunction with a traditional head dress ceremony on July 15, 2011, during the Blood Tribe annual powwow with Kevin Bambrough, CEO of Sprott Resource Corporation, the founding shareholder of One Earth Farms. The gesture of recognizing Bambrough as an honorary Chief establishes the long term relation between One Earth Farms and the Blood Tribe. During the ceremony, Bambrough was honoured with the Blackfoot name ‘Sorrel Horse Rider’.
Kevin Bambrough (left), CEO of Sprott Resource Corporation, was honoured with a head dress and the Blackfoot name ‘Sorrel Horse Rider’ during the Kainai Indian Days Powwow July 15, 2011. Speaking on behalf of the Blood Tribe, Chief Charles Weaselhead stated, “The granting of this honour is in recognition of the efforts of Kevin Bambrough in the founding of One Earth Farms and his sincere efforts to engage Canada’s First Nations peoples in a pursuing genuine partnerships in agriculture, which have created increased employment, revenues for First Nations, and the environmental sustainability of our lands. The granting of an honorary Chief’s headdress cements the relationship of trust and friendship between the Blood Tribe and One Earth Farms and we hope for continued success as we move forward together.”
Speaking on behalf of One Earth Farms, President and C.E.O. Larry Ruud stated, “The Blood Tribe is one of our key partners. In 2010, the Blood Tribe transferred a tee-pee to One Earth Farms which is their highest cultural honour and we continue to be grateful for their shared vision in building a premiere agricultural business. We are pleased our First Nations partners share that vision along with Kevin Bambrough’s commitment to building this unique farming enterprise, which is anchored in a corporate social responsibility with our First Nations partners.”
About One Earth Farms Corp.
One Earth Farms is a large corporate grain and cattle farm primarily operating in partnership with the First Nations on First Nations farmland in the Prairie Provinces in Canada.
Sacred Headdress Returned to Blackfoot Confederacy
After 127 years, the split horn bonnet headdress has been returned to the Blackfoot people through the Native American Repatriation Act. This legislation attempts to honor the wishes of Indian tribes to return artifacts and ceremonial objects still in use to their origins. The ceremonial headdress used by the Horn Society, was repatriated to the Blackfeet on July 14, 2011, after a cleansing ceremony conducted by elders from the Blackfoot Confederacy. It had been in the possession of the Museum of Montana for over a century after being donated by a former Indian agent of the Blackfeet Tribe.
Negotiations for the return of the headdress began in the fall of 2010 and concluded months later when it was determined that the sacred object met the criteria for its repatriation to the Blackfoot Confederacy. It was through the efforts of John and Carol Murray, Calvin Williams and Rod First Rider, spiritual leaders of the sacred Horn Society, and Blood Tribe Councillor Franklyn White Quills, that the process of the repatriation began.
With the help of chief curator of the Museum of Montana in Helena, Jennifer Bottomly-O’looney, the repatriation was made possible. This statement was released by her office: Our Board of Trustees determined the following in February, 2011- “Split horn bonnet headdress (X1892.01.38). According to our records this bonnet was acquired by Major R. A. Allen “from the Blackfeet, Bloods, and Piegan Indians”, while serving as the United States Indian Agent for Blackfeet Agency, Montana Territory, in 1884-86. It was loaned to the Society by Allen in 1892 and later purchased by William Andrus Clark who donated it to the Society’s collections in 1900.
Pursuant NAGPRA law, this split horn bonnet is a specific ceremonial object needed by traditional Native American religious leaders for the practice of traditional Native American religion by present-day adherents. It is further determined that there is a shared group identity between this item and the Blackfeet Nation of Montana on behalf of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Blackfeet Nation of Montana, the Piegan Nation, the Blood Nation and the Siksika Nation).
After posting a repatriation announcement in the Federal Register for 30 days, as prescribed by NAGPRA law, the bonnet will be received by John Murray, Blackfeet Nation Tribal Preservation Officer.”
With the return of the split horn bonnet headdress, another ceremonial artifact will be put back into use for tribal ceremonies this summer. It is an historic event for members of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Other ceremonial objects have been returned by institutions in Canada, U.S. and Europe as part of trend to help in the continuance of Native American practices which is so important to their survival.
