The institution held the remains of thousands of Native people — individuals who had been removed from their burial places, taken from battlefields, or otherwise acquired in ways that would have been impossible to justify under any meaningful standard of consent.

It also held enormous quantities of sacred objects, ceremonial items, and culturally significant belongings taken from Native communities across the country.

The Smithsonian’s acquisition of Sitting Bull’s hair and leggings fit squarely within this pattern.

It was not exceptional.

It was standard practice for its era — which is precisely what made the era’s standard practices so damaging.

The Museum System and What It Kept

To understand why Sitting Bull’s hair spent decades in a museum collection, it helps to understand the broader context of how museums in nineteenth and early twentieth century America related to Native American material culture and human remains.