More than 150 artifacts taken from Native Americans that have been deemed “sacred” will be returned to two Sioux tribes in South Dakota after they were stored at a museum in Massachusetts for over a century.
The items include artifacts that the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes believe are a direct link to the Wounded Knee Massacre that killed approximately 250 Native Americans in 1890. The items consisted of weapons, pipes, moccasins, and clothing, and had been housed at the Founders Museum in Barre, Massachusetts.
from ancestors massacred at Wounded Knee Creek in 1890. (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo, File)
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“Ever since that Wounded Knee massacre happened, genocides have been instilled in our blood,” Surrounded Bear, who traveled to Barre from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, said, according to the Boston Globe. “And for us to bring back these artifacts, that’s a step toward healing. That’s a step in the right direction.”
The items were symbolically returned to representatives of the tribes in a public ceremony Saturday at an elementary school near the Founders Museum. The items will be rendered to the tribes in a private ceremony.
Native American tribes have spent decades attempting to retrieve lost items from U.S. history museums but were often dismissed. In April, board members at the Barre Museum Association agreed to return items after certain stipulations were met during a visit from representatives of the tribe. The stipulations included an expert checking the authenticity of the items, testing the items for arsenic which would preserve the artifacts, and getting resolutions passed by the tribal councils.
Ann Meilus, president of the board at the Founders Museum, said she always intended to return the items despite a minor hiccup in the process earlier this year.
“It was always important to me to give them back,” Meilus told the outlet. “I think the museum will be remembered for being on the right side of history for returning these items.”
The artifacts were donated to the museum in 1892 by a traveling shoe salesman named Frank Root, who was known for buying Native American artifacts that he used in his roadshow. The items being returned are just a tiny fraction of an estimated 870,000 Native American artifacts that are housed at history museums, colleges, and the federal government, according to the Associated Press.
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In 1990, Congress issued an apology for the massacre. Later that year, Congress said museums receiving federal funding needed to return any Native American remains or objects to their rightful owners.
Additional efforts have been made in recent years to strip Medal of Honor recipients of the award for the massacre, such as legislation supported by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
