1874 TREATY 4 MEDAL ON DISPLAY

Ray McCallum doesn't see himself as the owner of a rare medal.

The medal, which was given to the chiefs who signed Treaty 4 in 1874, was bought by McCallum and his wife, Paula Acoose, last year.

"It's not our medal. It belongs to the people," said Mc-Callum. "The people's medal is all the people of Treaty 4 and Saskatchewan."

That's why McCallum and Acoose weren't shy about having the medal on display at a Regina Coin Club show, which was hosted at the Turvey Centre on the weekend. After buying it at an auction for $40,000 last year, Mc-Callum and Acoose briefly kept the medal in their home before placing it in a safety deposit box at a bank. Since April, it has been stored at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.

"People have been expressing interest and asking about the medal, and what we've found is it's a very big responsibility," said Acoose.

She said many people have asked about borrowing the medal to put on display. The couple is hoping to set up an advisory board in the future to help manage the medal.

"It's so very important (to have on display), not only for the older people like us, but particularly the younger people," Acoose said.

About 500 people were expected to see the medal over the weekend. Several coin collectors and enthusiasts were at the Regina Coin Club's show on Saturday morning.

George Manz, president of the coin club, said he contacted McCallum and Acoose shortly after the medal was purchased to ask about putting it on display.

It's believed only 21 of the medals were made and fewer than that still exist.

"To me, it's priceless," said Manz. "Almost no one has ever seen one before."

To read the complete article, see:
Medal garnering interest (www.leaderpost.com/news/Medal+garnering+interest/10986791/story.html)

After mysteriously disappearing for generations, the only Treaty 4 medal to be found has returned home to Saskatchewan.

The Government of Canada handed out 21 of these medals to First Nations chiefs who signed the treaty for the area covering southern Saskatchewan in 1874.

This particular medal suddenly resurfaced at an auction in London, Ont. and Paula Acoose and her husband Ray McCallum soon found themselves in a bidding war, one of a series of lucky events leading to the medal returning home.

"Going once, going twice, sold for $40,000, and that's how we got it. We left the room about five minutes after that and cried and hugged each other in the hallway," said Acoose.

They spent $40,000 dollars out of their own pockets. That may sound like a lot of money for a medal, but to the First Nations in southern Saskatchewan, it's priceless.

"Out of all of the ones that were given out at the original treaty signings, this is apparently the only one still known to exist," said Royce Pettyjohn.

Pettyjohn is a volunteer at a museum in Maple Creek. He has done extensive research on the Treaty 4 medals and this one wouldn't have returned to its rightful owners if he didn't spot the medal in the auction catalog.

"I knew right away that it was of tremendous historical significance as well as great spiritual significance for the First Nations people," he explained.

The medal was discovered in the estate of a man named Robert D.W. Band. There were no documents with it or any sign of where it's been all these years, or how Band inherited it.

Watching such a rare piece flow through her auction house, Wendy Hoare, from Jeffrey Hoare Auctions, decided to personally deliver it to the Treaty 4 First Nations. She hopped on a flight to Regina on Monday evening and presented the medal to First Nations members in a similar fashion as it was in 1874.

"Safely, from my hands to their hands," she said.

"Our prayers were answered, and when I touched it - very emotional," said Noel Starblanket while holding the medal his great, great-grandfather once held.

To read the complete article, see:
PHOTOS: Treaty 4 medal from 1874 returned to SK (http://panow.com/article/475551/photos-treaty-4-medal-1874-returned-sk)

To read the complete article, see:
Rare treaty medal finds way back to Native hands (http://canadiancoinnews.com/rare-treaty-medal-finds-way-back-native-hands/)

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