UPDATE - 12/29/2023: "The #WoundedKnee descendants group has decided not to burn artifacts stolen from mass graves of #WoundedKneeMassacre victims after officials from the #CheyenneRiverSioux Tribe requested that they not burn those artifacts."
Wounded Knee descendants group plans ceremony for artifacts
A group of Wounded Knee descendants is planning to burn recently repatriated artifacts on December 29
by Amelia Schafer
Dec 25, 2023
RAPID CITY, S.D. – "Last November, more than 150 items stolen from mass graves of Wounded Knee massacre victims were returned to a group of descendants, the Si’Tanka Ta’ Oyate O’mniceye (Descendants of the Si’ Tanka Nation). Now, a year later, the group plans to burn the artifacts to mark the end of the one-year traditional bereavement period called wasigla.
"In 1890, more than 300 Lakota men, women and children were killed by the #UnitedStatesMilitary. The military had been sent to #PineRidge to stop a potential 'Indian uprising.' Instead, they encountered a band of #Mniconju Lakota led by Chief Spotted Elk (nicknamed Big Foot by the military). The military misinterpreted the group’s ghost dance songs as an intent to attack and opened fire on the band. Now 133 years later, the descendants of those who survived the massacre are working to preserve the memory of what happened that day.
"Mixed in amongst the artifacts are items from other tribes, Ojibwe moccasins, Dakota and Cheyenne beadwork and other items from other tribes were scattered in. Those items will also be burned.
"All repatriated items came from the #WoodsMemorialLibrary’s Founders #MuseumCollection in #BarreMassachusetts. The museum qualifies as a private collection.
"The Founders Museum did not respond to a request for comment. It is unclear if the museum’s entire 'Native American Collection' was given to the Wounded Knee descendants or just the Wounded Knee-related items.
"Some Wounded Knee survivor descendants claim they were left out of the process [to make the decision to burn the items]. The group said there are more than 500 descendants of Wounded Knee survivor James Pipe on Head alone, the grandson of Chief Spotted Elk.
"Broken Nose said just in Oglala, South Dakota over 30 families descend from Spotted Elk. This specific group is comprised of descendants who have met since 1980.
"Calvin Spotted Elk, a citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said he feels the descendants have not been properly included in the decision-making process, especially those who live out of state. Spotted Elk lives in California."
https://ictnews.org/news/wounded-knee-descendants-group-plans-ceremony-for-artifacts
#Genocide #Lakota #NativeAmericanHistory #WoundedKneeMassacre #NeverForgetWoundedKnee
#IndianWars #GhostDance #Repatriation