The family from Whitefish Bay who had a number of invaluable pieces of regalia and jewelry stolen from their truck early Tuesday has managed to recover some of their possessions.
Sisters Rhonda and Mandy White, along with their mom Caroline, were travelling back from a Pow Wow east of the Sault when three of their suitcases containing a number of hand-crafted garments and family heirlooms were taken from their truck during an overnight stay at the Quality Inn on Bay Street.
Their sister Jocelyn, who took to social media in an effort to recover the bags this week, was thrilled to share that one of the three suitcases was located behind an abandoned house near the hotel — which included all seven of their jingle dresses.
A specially beaded bag, which belonged to Rhonda and Mandy's late grandmother, was also recovered thanks to the assistance of a Batchewana First Nation resident.
"I just want to say big chi-miigwech to our friend for all her hard work in locating the suitcase," Jocelyn White wrote. "I don’t even have words to explain how grateful we are! We are going to stay in the Soo and keep driving around and hope we find the rest of the beadwork!"
In addition to the beadwork, items that remain missing includes Caroline's moccasins, leggings, purse and jewelry — all of which are contained inside hard blue and dark grey canvas suitcases.
Tuesday's original story:
A family who is travelling through Sault Ste. Marie and on their way home from a Pow Wow is feeling devastated after three of their suitcases containing invaluable pieces of regalia and jewelry were stolen from their truck overnight.
Sisters Rhonda and Mandy White, along with their mom Caroline, arrived to the Sault late Monday night and were staying at the Quality Inn on Bay Street when the incident occurred during the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Residents of Whitefish Bay, a First Nations reserve near Kenora, Ont., the White family is now leading a desperate search on social media to retrieve their priceless possessions.
“I’m trying really hard to keep it together,” Rhonda tearfully told SooToday. “These things are near and dear to us.”
According to the out-of-town sisters, video footage from Quality Inn’s property shows two unidentified individuals breaking into the truck and taking the bags. Their faces could not be made out.
Between the family’s three stolen suitcases, the missing items include seven hand-crafted jingle dresses, as well as fully beaded purses, jewelry and moccasins, among other irreplaceable pieces.
Some of the items have been passed down through the family over several generations.
“The purse that was taken from Rhonda was fully beaded, and that belonged to our grandma,” Mandy said. “She passed away about 20 years ago. The bead work and the jewelry all belonged to her.”
“The jingles that were on one of my dresses were made by our relatives, and the man who made it said they would be the last jingles he ever made,” Rhonda added. “He has since passed, and I’ve held onto those jingles. They’re not really replaceable because of that — there’s a story behind them.”
Mandy noted that the fully beaded items can take years to make.
Other wearables like the jingle dresses also take a considerable amount of time to craft as the family sometimes has to travel hours just to find the proper fabric and cones to assemble the regalia.
The family had initially planned to head home today, but this unwelcome turn of events has forced the Whitefish Bay residents to stick around and attempt to locate their suitcases.
Thankfully, they have no shortage of help.
“We’re so appreciative by everyone who is reaching out and sharing — especially on social media,” Rhonda said. “I’m very humbled by all the kindness of the people who are helping and supporting us.”
The White family told SooToday they’ve alerted Sault Police, the pawn shops, and other businesses of the situation in case the contents of their bags turn up.
For readers who want to be on the lookout, the stolen bags include two hard cases — an orange one with an Edmonton Oilers logo and a blue one — as well as a dark grey canvas suitcase.