BARRE — Just over 130 years ago, on Dec. 29, 1890, troopers belonging to the U.S. 7th Cavalry surrounded several hundred Indigenous people — members of the Lakota Tribe — and opened fire. No one is certain what sparked the fusillade, but when it was over, some 300 men, women, and children were dead in what came to be known as the Wounded Knee Massacre.
After the firing ceased, the bodies of the dead were stripped of their possessions, which were then buried in locations where they could eventually be retrieved. Some of the items were collected by Frank Root of Barre, a traveling shoe salesman, who would display them up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Somehow, the items became part of the permanent collection of the Barre Museum.
Now, after extensive discussion and consultation, those artifacts are set to be returned to representatives of the Sioux Tribe.
This Saturday, the town of Barre will welcome a delegation of tribal spiritual leaders, elders and political leaders for a celebration which will include representatives of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, Indigenous peoples from New England, and the Nipmuc Tribe, who will welcome the Lakota to their territory. The event begins at 1 p.m. at the Ruggles Lane School in Barre.
Scheduled speakers include Oglala Lakota Tribe President Kevin Killer, Nipmuc Chief Cheryll Toney Holley and Troy Phillips, the chairperson for the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs. Barre Museum Association Board President Ann Meilus will hand off the collection of 131 artifacts and remains to Justin Pourier, the 5th member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, who serves as designated stakeholder in this process.
Entertainment includes a drum circle by Wicozani and may also feature a sacred hoop dancer.
In Lakota tradition, a giveaway is a central part of any celebration. The Tribe is bringing handmade gifts from Pine Ridge to be given out to the attendees of the event in exchange for the hats, scarves, gloves, sweaters, boots and toys for infants, children and teens that attendees are being asked to bring to the event. These items will be given out at a Dec. 28 commemoration at Wounded Knee.
After the artifacts are transferred to a representative of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, they will be transported back to South Dakota where extensive plans are underway to celebrate their return and honor the anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre on December 28th and 29th at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
For additional information, please contact Mia Feroleto at mia.feroleto@gmail.com or by phone at 802 952 6217.