Posted by Oglala Sioux Tribe - OST on Sunday, November 6, 2022
"It was always important to me to give them back," said Ann Meilus, president of the board at the Founders Museum, reports NBC Boston. "I think the museum will be remembered for being on the right side of history for returning these items." Members of the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes recently traveled to Massachusetts to take custody of the sacred items in a ceremony marking the culmination of repatriation efforts that had been decades in the making.
Posted by Oglala Sioux Tribe - OST on Sunday, November 6, 2022
"Ever since that Wounded Knee massacre happened, genocides have been instilled in our blood," said 20-year-old Surrounded Bear, who came from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. "And for us to bring back these artifacts, that’s a step towards healing. That's a step in the right direction."
Wendell Yellow Bull, a descendant of Wounded Knee victim Joseph Horn Cloud, shared that these items will be kept at Oglala Lakota College for now while the tribal leaders decide their future. The 61-year-old added that he wants them to walk away from the ceremony remembering that "we all are human beings."
Over a 160 historical items including personal effects that were stolen off victims of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre...
Posted by Oglala Sioux Tribe - OST on Sunday, November 6, 2022
Sharing some pictures of the items they received from the museum, the Ogala Sioux Tribe wrote on Facebook: "Over 160 historical items including personal effects that were stolen off victims of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre are coming home to Lakota Country. A delegation led by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, including President Kevin Killer, and 5th Member, Justin Pourier, along with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Wounded Knee Survivors Descendants, the International Indigenous Youth Council-Oglala Chapter, assisted in making the transfer of these items from Barre, Massachusetts, to Oglala Lakota College, after over a century being kept in a collection. OLC will hold items until a plan of action and consensus building occurs amongst the tribes."