Thursday,  December 12 , 2024

Linkedin Pinterest
News / Nation & World

Wounded Knee artifacts highlight slow pace of repatriations

By PHILIP MARCELO, Associated Press
Published: July 28, 2022, 2:20pm
4 Photos
Leola One Feather, left, of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, observes as John Willis photographs Native American artifacts on July 19, 2022, at the Founders Museum in Barre, Massachusetts. The private museum, which is housed in the town library, is working to repatriate as many as 200 items believed to have been taken from Native Americans massacred by U.S. soldiers at Wounded Knee Creek in 1890. Willis is photographing the items for documentation, ahead of their expected return to the tribe.
Leola One Feather, left, of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, observes as John Willis photographs Native American artifacts on July 19, 2022, at the Founders Museum in Barre, Massachusetts. The private museum, which is housed in the town library, is working to repatriate as many as 200 items believed to have been taken from Native Americans massacred by U.S. soldiers at Wounded Knee Creek in 1890. Willis is photographing the items for documentation, ahead of their expected return to the tribe. (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo) Photo Gallery

BARRE, Mass. (AP) — One by one, items purportedly taken from Native Americans massacred at Wounded Knee Creek emerged from the dark, cluttered display cases where they’ve sat for more than a century in a museum in rural Massachusetts.

Moccasins, necklaces, clothing, ceremonial pipes, tools and other objects were carefully laid out on white backgrounds as a photographer dutifully snapped pictures under bright studio lights.

Thank you for reading The Columbian.

Subscribe for only $99/year to get unlimited access.

Already a subscriber? Sign in right arrow icon

Support local journalism

Your tax-deductible donation to The Columbian’s Community Funded Journalism program will contribute to better local reporting on key issues, including homelessness, housing, transportation and the environment. Reporters will focus on narrative, investigative and data-driven storytelling.

Local journalism needs your help. It’s an essential part of a healthy community and a healthy democracy.

Community Funded Journalism logo
Loading...