Esplanade artefact to be featured in BBC documentary

Medicine Hat – The Mike Mountain Horse Story Robe, an Indigenous artefact currently housed at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre will be featured in an upcoming series on the British television station, BBC Two.

The four-part program, led by British Historian David Olusoga, is a broad look at the history of the British Empire. One of the series’ episodes will focus on the British Empire during WWI and will feature stories of non-Caucasian soldiers like Mike Mountain Horse and his wartime depictions through an Indigenous story robe.

"The Mike Mountain Horse Story Robe has become a popular item in our collection because of the unique materials used to tell the story of one soldiers’ experience during the war," says Xanthe Isbister, Director and Curator of the Esplanade Galleries and Collections. "I think the piece serves as a great reminder that Indigenous Canadians were also on the front lines fighting for our freedom."

In Indigenous culture, story robes were traditionally made of buffalo hides using pigment to detail hunts, encounters, and other important events. The Mike Mountain Horse Story Robe uses pictogram-style drawings to depict twelve battles with the Germans.

"The Esplanade is pleased to have this important piece of history in our collection, and we look forward to hosting the BBC documentarians over two days on August 13 and 14," explains Isbister. "On August 13 a tepee will be erected on the lawn of the Esplanade and will serve as the location for a ceremonial blessing of the Mike Mountain Horse Story Robe on August 14, led by Elder Charlie Fox with three of Mike Mountain Horse’s descendants in attendance."

The footage captured at the Esplanade will be used in the BBC Two series, broadcast date currently unknown.

Mike Mountain Horse was member of the Kainai Blood Tribe who enlisted in the war in May 1916 and was wounded three times in battle before returning to Alberta in 1919 where he would stay until the time of his death in 1964 at the age of 76.

To learn more about the Mike Mountain Horse Story Robe visit the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre or search for the piece online (War Deed Skin B52.111) at collections.esplanade.ca.

- 30 -

For media inquiries, please contact:
media@medicinehat.ca