Canada Post loses $1,500 worth of Super 8 film reels, hands empty envelope to stunned artist

A film project about missing artifacts has itself gone missing. An Alberta artist was stunned when Canada Post delivered an empty envelope instead of the $1,500 in Super 8 film he expected.

The film had just been processed at a cost of nearly $1,500 to contemporary artist Seth Cardinal Dodginghorse, who is working on a project funded by the Original People's Investment Program.

After writing the film over 1½ years, he spent his summer travelling to museums in Ontario and Alberta to document on film the artifacts and items that had either been taken, misplaced or purchased from Tsuut'ina First Nation, west of Calgary — and learning about how they ended up where they are today.

He had personally dropped the reels off in Toronto in September, where the specialty film would be scanned, developed and processed.

When it disappeared while on route back to him, he was shocked.

"When I found out I laughed about it because I was like, 'Oh, what are they gonna do? Edit my film for me?'" he said. "I'm not too sure what someone would do [with] a Super 8 film footage at all."

"When I found out I laughed about it because I was like, 'Oh, what are they gonna do? Edit my film for me?'" ​​​​​​- Seth Cardinal Dodginghorse

He was given a tracking number a few weeks ago when he was informed the film was in the mail. 

"I followed it every day because I was super excited," he said.

On Tuesday he got the news he'd been waiting for — his package containing the film was to be delivered that day.

"I watched it throughout the day, so I know that it was in Calgary being driven around somewhere or at some facility that Canada Post operates," he said. "And I waited around, but eventually it wasn't delivered at all that day."

Documenting history

The footage on the reels is important to Cardinal Dodginghorse.

"It's an important story for myself, because I was wondering about the history of colonialism, as well as our connection to sacred objects and physical objects that we would actually wear in our everyday life," he said.

"It all kind of goes to my connection of the [southwest Calgary] ring road," he said. "That's where my family used to live. So the film is about my family's connection to that land as well as our objects that come from that land."

On Wednesday, Cardinal Dodginghorse says he got another notification that he should attend a nearby Canada Post office to pick up his package.

"I signed for it and then when they handed it to me, it was physically open," he said. "There was nothing inside. The label was ripped open and there was dirt on it. The only thing inside was … my receipt."

When he asked the Canada Post employee about the opened envelope, the clerk was unable to provide an explanation, other than it had just been dropped off 10 minutes before — and that he'd have to contact customer service.

But, when Cardinal Dodginghorse got a customer service agent on the phone, they told him he couldn't personally file the complaint and that it'd have to come from the sender. 

"I talked to the folks at Toronto. They told me they would file the claim with Canada Post, which we've done," he said. 

In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson from Canada Post confirmed claims had been received from both the customer and the sender.

"We have been in direct contact with both parties. We have also let the customer know that we will continue to follow up with this investigation internally," the email reads.

What happens next

Luckily for Cardinal Dodginghorse, the film processors did backup a digital copy of his work, and they will be sending him that.

But he says the project won't have the same impact. 

"What I was hoping to do was, with the physical film, was to edit and splice that tape together to make my film," he said. "Without having the physical film, I would have to go about it a different way."

And the irony of this situation isn't lost on Cardinal Dodginghorse, who was attempting to bring the physical film back in place of the objects its footage held, which had been taken from the land.

"I was hoping to use the footage I shot in the museums and on the reserve to physically archive that in some way for the future," he said.

He says if someone were to return the film, there'd be no questions asked, and he'd be able to finish the work he started.