The Ghost Shirt

The Ghost Shirt is a relic believed to have been worn by a Sioux warrior killed in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre. The shirt is plain cotton, has raven, owl, and eagle feathers hanging from the neck, and is pierced in several places with bullet holes. There are slight brown stains of blood, but it cannot be confirmed that the shirt originated from the massacre. Ghost Dance shirts are said to be objects of power to the wearer, and sacred to American Indians. The Lakota Sioux were the only tribe to believe that the ghost shirt clothing would protect them from the bullets of the white man.^[1]

In 1891 the shirt was brought to Glasgow, and sold to Kelvingrove Museum by George C. Crager, a member of Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Traveling Show. The shirt was displayed at the museum from 1892 until 1999.

A four year campaign led by Marcella Le Beau, secretary of The Wounded Knee Association and great-granddaughter of one of the survivors of Wounded Knee, sought the shirt's return to the Lakota people. In November 1998 Glasgow City Council voted to return it after the city residents supported the move. In a gesture of good will, the Ghost Dance Shirt was replaced by another made in 1998 by Marcella Le Beau herself. She said, "This will bring about a sense of closure to a sad and horrible event. Now healing can begin." The Lakota leaders said that the shirt will be displayed at one of the Reservations once a new museum is built.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} (photos)^[8][9]

Controversial Right of Return

The return of the Ghost Shirt sparked a debate in the UKabout ethical and legitimate rights of retention or return. Many objects owe their preservation to the museums that acquired them. On that basis, some argued that widespread repatriation endangered the future of all museum collections, and should be resisted - unless similar facilities could be provided in which case artifacts should immediately be returned. Others disagreed saying that the emphasis should be the cultural and religious significance of artifacts in their country of origin - and that monies raised by the holding institution, from presence of the artifacts should be repatriated to the originating culture.

In 2005, two preserved tattooed Maori heads were returned from a museum in Perth, Scotland, to New Zealand, and another two similar heads plus a bone were returned from a museum in Glasgow. They were collected originally in 1822 by David Ramsay, a Perth-born ship's surgeon.^{[10][11][12][13]}

References

1. Everything 2
2. Memo from Glasgow City Council
3. BBC News Nov 30, 1998
4. BBC News Aug 2, 1999
5. The Independent Nov 20, 1998
6. from South Dakota Magazine Sept.1999 Archived May 11, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
7. Chicago Sun-Times Nov 18, 1998
8. Dennistoun Online Photo Gallery
9. University of Glasgow - American Studies
10. The Scotsman Jan 22, 2005
11. Elginism Jan 23, 2005
12. Museums and the Interpretation of Visual Culture by Eilean Hooper-Greenhill
13. Times Higher Education Dec. 18, 1998