Ferrin Willie said she was “super happy and relieved” to find out Wednesday that precious family heirlooms and First Nations ceremonial items that went missing from her Port Hardy home were found.
“I’m still in shock. I wasn’t very hopeful,” said Willie. The logging company that had rented her family home found her items and is working to return them by the end of the week. An employee might have had the items.
“I really give credit to the company for pursuing this,” said Willie, adding she hopes all the items have been found and are intact.
There are at least 68 pieces, including masks, rattles, drums, paddles, headdresses and blankets. A collection of regalia and art was passed on to Willie and her siblings from their late father David Gladstone, a Heiltsuk artist and former chief.
Willie and her partner, Jordan Hunt, discovered their items missing from a storage room over the weekend. They returned home from an extended visit to Victoria to pick up a Chilkat blanket for their 10-month-old daughter’s 10 moons ceremony, a Kwakwaka’wakw naming ritual for children. It was custom-made for their elder daughter, who is six, and intended to be a family heirloom.
Willie had several photos of the stolen items the family used for ceremonies, potlatches and celebrations — which she posted online with a plea for their return.
The post was shared more than 7,500 times on Facebook from the Island to northern B.C. and beyond, and covered widely in the media.
Port Hardy RCMP said they were investigating and Willie said the logging company took immediate action to help the family.
She thanked everyone who helped spread the word about the incident. “We’re celebrating in a local coffee shop,” she said.
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Earlier story
Ferrin Willie went to her family home in Port Hardy on the weekend, planning to pick up the regalia needed for her daughter’s 10 moons ceremony.
But when she got to the home, which had been rented to a local logging company while the family was on an extended visit to Victoria, the door was unlocked.
Gone was the family’s collection of ceremonial First Nations regalia and art, passed down between generations.
At least 68 items were taken.
“It’s very upsetting,” Willie said. “I would rather our house burn down than lose these items. They can’t be replaced.”
The stolen items include button blankets, aprons, headdresses, drums and rattles.
The Chilkat blanket Willie planned to use for her 10-month-old daughter’s 10 moons ceremony, a Kwakwaka'wakw naming ritual for children, was custom-made for her elder daughter, who is six. It has a distinctive yellow, black and white border with a white fringe.
“These are priceless items to us and regalia that was meant to be passed on from daughter to daughter as an heirloom,” Willie said. The family uses the regalia and items regularly to dance and participate at potlatches, celebrations and cultural events.
A distinctive frontlet mask has a sun face with a piece of abalone missing from the mouth and Willie’s name on the inside. It was carved by Calvin Hunt, the father of her partner, Jordan Hunt.
Several of the items were passed down to Willie and her siblings from their late father, David Gladstone. The Heiltsuk artist and former chief died 12 years ago.
Willie said she hopes that by sharing information and photos of her family treasures, they will be recovered and returned before anything is resold or ends up in a pawn shop.
“I’m still trying to figure out everything that is gone,” she said.
Willie said her family decided to rent out their furnished home for a few months starting in April and spend time in Victoria.
“We were visiting family and friends,” said Willie, who attended the University of Victoria.
Willie said she reported the theft to the RCMP and called the logging company, but company officials were off for the long weekend. They have since been contacted and are trying to help. She does not know when the items were stolen from her home.
Port Hardy RCMP are investigating the theft. Anyone with information can contact them at 250-949-6335.
