$65.00 CAD
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Photo postcard by famed railway photographer Byron Harmon. On front, written on negative, 'INDIAN CHIEF 507’.
This photograph shows Wahchegiye (Hector Cralwer) in ceremonial dress for the healing ceremony he would perform.
On back, printed:
Unused.
Considered one of the most prolific photographers of the Canadian Rockies, Byron Harmon was an avid explorer, entrepreneur, and early pioneer of Banff. His collection of photographs not only chronicled his many adventures, but inspired a generation to travel and explore Banff.
Remembered and revered as a healer, Wahchegiye (meaning "close to the creator") was a man of many talents and experiences…. Hector Crawler, born sometime around 1850, was a Iyãhé Nakoda medicine man, tribal councillor (1906 to 1919…
In the late 1890s, due to different losses and economic hardships, including losing a number of horses during an incident with a CPR train, records suggest that Hector went into the mountains at Lake Minnewanka and had a spiritual experience, in which he was gifted the power of healing by the Great Spirit. He returned to the valley and became a beloved medicine man and healer: "Hector would sing a spiritual song with his rattle while two young girls danced. The next day, Hector and the girls would go find and collect the herbs to boil. The sick person would drink the tea, while Hector sang and the girls danced. They would stay for four days with the sick person, who would begin to show signs of being healed on the fourth day."
https://banff.ca/1025/Byron-Harmon-and-Hector-Crawler
