 |
|
|
| 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, Lt. Colonel Henry Schell,
(83)
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 passed over 11 months before the return of Chief Smoke at the Seventh International Brotherhood Days in 1994. In spirit Severt witnessed 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 atop a small rise just west and north of the Brotherhood Days dance grounds. 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
|
|