CHIEF SMOKE
         DIED  1864
    RETURNED  1994

Severt Young Bear Sr., founder of International Brotherhood Days,
was the fifth generation descendant of Chief Smoke.  Chief Smoke
died in 1864 and was placed upon a scaffold in the burial custom of
his people.  An Army surgeon, stationed at nearby Fort Laramie,
removed the remains of Chief Smoke and sent them to the War
Department in Washington,  D.C..  Eventually the remains of
Chief Smoke found their way to the Smithsonian Institute, where
they languished in storage in company with the remains of over
60,000 other Native People. Severt petitioned for the return of his
grandfather and hoped he would one day witness the return of his
ancestor.  Severt would not live to witness the return of Chief
Smoke at the Seventh International Brotherhood Days in 1994,
but in spirit he would see the return of his grandfather to the land
of his birth.  Chief Smoke's remains were returned to the Earth
in a spot that Severt favored.

To view the Smithsonian Institute's account of the repatriation of the
                        remains of Chief Smoke go to:
      

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/anthro/repatriation/reports/regional/plains/ smoke.htm - 14.3KB