A Lock Of Sitting Bull’s Hair Was Tested More Than A Century Later – And The DNA Confirmed A Family Claim

The repatriation to the family — rather than to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe as a governmental entity — was itself a matter of some significance.

The family had asserted a direct claim as Sitting Bull’s descendants, distinct from the tribal government’s claim as the governmental representative of the community.

The Smithsonian’s repatriation to the family reflected an assessment that the family’s claim was the most directly relevant in this specific case, given that the objects were personal belongings of an identified individual rather than communal or sacred objects of the tribe as a whole.

The relationship between family claims and tribal governmental claims in repatriation contexts is a recurring and sometimes contentious issue in NAGPRA and related contexts.