Georgetown University Library has initiated a process that will ultimately result in the return of a lock of human hair that is believed to belong to Chief Spotted Elk, a leader in the 19th century of the Mnicoujou, Lakota Sioux.
The human hair clipping was found inside an envelope in a box of unrelated materials in Georgetown University Library’s archives in 2020. The item had been donated to the university’s former Coleman Museum, which closed in 1947.
After reviewing archival records, library archivists believe the lock of hair likely belonged to Chief Spotted Elk, also known as “Big Foot,” after he was killed by the U.S. Army, along with at least 300 Lakota men, women and children, in the brutal massacre in Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1890.
The university has since been engaged in a process of repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA), a federal law that requires institutions that receive federal funding to return Native American human remains, funerary, sacred and cultural objects to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.
On Feb. 3, 2025, Georgetown filed a notice of inventory completion with NAGPRA, after which the repatriation of human remains can formally begin. The notice was published in the Federal Register on March 19.
“We are horrified and saddened to learn about the unjust and unethical possession of human remains by our University. This violation of human dignity goes against our values.” said Georgetown Interim President Robert M. Groves. “We formally apologize for the hurt and pain this has caused. We are committed to the return of Chief Spotted Elk’s remains to his descendants and to acknowledging this painful part of our nation’s history.”
As part of the repatriation process, Georgetown has contacted the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
The Discovery Process
The lock of hair was found with an accompanying catalog card that reads: “Big Foot’s Hair; / Chief of the band wiped out at Wounded Knee by the 7th Calvary–Mrs. Lucy Ord Mason, Daughter of Gen. Ord.”
After discovering the human remains, Georgetown archivists began a thorough investigation to understand how the item came into the university’s possession. The Library conducted a full inventory of any and all Native American human remains and funerary objects, and determined it does not have any records indicating the presence of other human remains in its present or earlier museum collections.
In addition to institutional records, library curators examined records related to the item’s donor as well as the Coleman Museum, which, among other objects, housed ethnographic items. Based on these records, library archives believe that the lock of hair belonged to Chief Spotted Elk and was taken by John Sanford Mason Jr, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army who was at Wounded Knee. The item was included among Mason’s personal effects that his wife, Lucy Ord Mason, donated to the museum.
Through exchanges with other museums and reviews of their records, the Library also confirmed that other ethnographic items from the Coleman Museum were transferred to different museums when it closed. The Accession Memorandum of Dec. 14, 1948, between Georgetown and the Smithsonian Institution, identifies eight items attributed to “Plains Indians,” including saddle bags, dolls and moccasins. Georgetown’s Library staff has been in contact with curators and librarians at the Smithsonian, who confirmed the acquisition of these items by the Smithsonian.
“The Library is committed to working with experts and museums to determine the provenance of cultural items in our collection so as to assist with their repatriation whenever appropriate” said Keith Gorman, associate university librarian for the Library’s Booth Family Center for Special Collections.
Chief Spotted Elk
Chief Spotted Elk was the leader of the Mnicoujou, Lakota Sioux during a particularly trying time in the tribe’s history. The buffalo they had hunted had been wiped out and the tribe had been pushed out of millions of acres of their land. As a result, they struggled to survive under poor living conditions on reservations.
During this time, many Native Americans communities in the West began practicing a religious ritual called the “Ghost Dance,” which the U.S. government, worried about the growing movement, moved to ban on all reservations in 1890.
In December of that year, Chief Spotted Elk and tribe members sought refuge in Pine Ridge Reservation after the U.S. Army killed his half-brother, Chief Sitting Bull, a Lakota chief who allowed the practice. As Lakota members traveled south, the U.S. Army arrested and confined them to Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
On Dec. 29, U.S. Army troops attempted to take the Lakota’s weapons. Historians have differing accounts of what happened next, but the Army opened fire on the largely unarmed Lakota men, women and children, resulting in the slaughter of at least 300 people. The Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux Tribes have since entered into a covenant to maintain the Wounded Knee Massacre site as a memorial and sacred site.
Georgetown librarians believe that records point to Mason obtaining the lock of hair from Chief Spotted Elk since he and his unit were at Wounded Knee. Additional artifacts were also taken from the chief and have been identified by other institutions. In 2000, a small museum in Massachusetts returned a lock of his hair after his descendant requested its return.
The Process of Repatriation
NAGPRA was established in 1990 to facilitate the “respectful return” of human remains, funerary and cultural objects to Native Americans.
Every museum that has a collection that includes Native American human remains or associated funerary objects must compile an inventory of such objects.
Georgetown has conducted a full inventory of any and all Native American human remains and funerary objects and, in compliance with NAGPRA, has consulted with tribal officials of the Native American tribes to return the remains. The repatriation process typically takes several years to complete.
The university has created a formal policy and process to address the repatriation of human remains when they are discovered outside of research purposes.
“The Georgetown University Library has been committed to ensuring the rightful and respectful return of this lock of hair, and we are gratified that this process is moving forward, consistent with the university’s core values of dignity and care of the person,” said Harriette Hemmasi, dean of the Library.