Opinion Honoring my ancestor’s remains — at a Smithsonian warehouse

The remains of Little Poplar, a Plains Cree Indian who was killed in 1886, should be returned to his people in Montana.

By
May 7, 2024 at 5:45 a.m. EDT
(Ūla Šveikauskaitė for The Washington Post)
9 min

Eden Fineday is a nehiyaw iskwew (Cree woman) from the Sweetgrass First Nation in Canada and the publisher of IndigiNews.

Before the Smithsonian employee leaves me alone with my relative’s skull, she flicks a switch on the wall and the ventilation system begins to whir. She has lit a charcoal for me and pulled down the blinds in the small ceremony room. She closes the door behind her, and I am alone with my ancestor. I’m nervous. I’ve never done this before.

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