Last week, Tribal Executive Board members Bryce Kirk and Justin Gray Hawk were on a travel delegation to Washington DC to meet with Smithsonian officials about the institution possessing a huge variety of items ranging from historical photos to human remains.
Fort Peck has lots of items there, many of them Assiniboine, he said.
But they weren’t there to take anything. Tribal representatives were there to look at objects in the museum collections to help the tribe decide whether they wish to put in a repatriation claim for their return, Smithosnian Public Relations Director Randall Kremer said.
Councilman Kirk said the collection was amazing. There were very old photographs, exhibits featuring traditional artifacts ranging from clothing, buckskin dolls for children, cradleboards for a baby, and funeral items. Councilwoman Patt Iron Cloud asked where all of these things came from.
Some tribes donated their valuable cultural treasures to the Smithsonian to preserve them. But that is not always the case.
Many of them were found on the prairie, some were confiscated by military officials, some were gifts, and many were stolen from Indian graves and dead bodies of murdered Indians after massacres. It doesn’t stop there, this includes bones and other Native American human remains. Incidents of archeological looting usually ends up with the stolen items being sold to private collectors.
Councilman Gray Hawk mentioned the federal law passed that requires the Smithsonian to return human remains and artifacts of cultural relevance to the tribe. At the Smithsonian, they told the council members some of the artifacts they have cannot be returned at the moment without the proper paperwork and evaluations, which could take years.
There is a need for more people to work in evaluating and appraising these items before they can be returned, but right now there are only a few workers, Gray Hawk said.
Councilman Terry Rattling Thunder said being in a place like that, with artifacts from so many different indigenous people and their spirits tethered to them, would make someone want to cleanse the soul. Gray Hawk said there was a sweat lodge ceremony where that was handled, but the presence of the spirits in the city is very strong.
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