Family returns headdress of famous Lakota chief Spotted Tail that it kept in a suitcase in the closet [View all]

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Source: msn /The Independent

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As Americans gather with families to celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday rooted in the country’s long, complicated history with its Indigenous people, a remarkable artifact has been on a complex journey of its own.

A stunning eagle feather headdress that once belonged to Chief Spotted Tail (Sinte Gleska), an influential 19th-century Brule/Sicangu Lakota leader, has been returned to the chief’s descendants, who in turn are hoping to preserve the artifacts for public display.

A different family, the Newells, first came to possess the artifacts, including the headdress, a bison horn, and a lock of braided hair, under unclear circumstances in the 1870s, when relative Major Cicero Newell, an Indian agent for the federal government, was serving in what’s now South Dakota.

A century and a half later, his descendants held onto the heirlooms, storing the headdress in a suitcase in a closet in smalltown Washington. In 2020, they set about trying to return the artifacts. James Newell, 77, connected with John Spotted Tail, a descendant of Chief Spotted Tail, and chief of staff to the tribal president of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. John Spotted Tail drove across the country to reclaim the objects.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/family-returns-headdress-of-famous-lakota-chief-spotted-tail-that-it-kept-in-a-suitcase-in-the-closet/ar-AA1uWlEe

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Some pics from here - After Five Generations, a Family Gave Back the Treasures in Its Closet (no paywall version)


A headdress made of eagle feathers is among the heirlooms passed down through generations of the Newell family. Several years ago, they decided to repatriate it.Credit...Tara Weston for The New York Times



The headdress will become part of a display at the South Dakota State Historical Society.Credit...Tara Weston for The New York Times