A touching story from Todd Papequash about the stranger’s caring

Recently Todd, together with his wife were coming back from the Fisher River where they just have finished the powwow and were going to the Portage for lunch. During the stop, Todd’s wife went out of the car and took some of her things out of the back and accidentally forgot to close the back of the trunk.

While driving, the case with regalia fell off. Later that day, the stranger named Blaine Bateman was driving the same road Todd did and found it.

Blaine said that once he saw the black case, the curiosity got the best of him and he decided to check what was inside. Surprisingly there he found the equipment for the traditional dancing. He knew that recently there was a powwow somewhere not far and started the investigation.

Soon enough the regalia has been returned to the owner.

It was hard for Todd to keep his emotions as regalia meant too much for him. He said that he’s been doing powwows for all his life, just like his father and this tradition has deep roots in his family.

No wonder that Todd wanted to come back and thank the person who returned his family treasure back. He presented Blaine an artwork by the artist Joe Tapaquon.

Blaine said he was proud for doing such a right thing, and after the meeting with Todd he hopes to visit his powwows someday.