Ilka Hartmann

The return of the Sacred Staff to the Omaha Nation on August 13, 1989. Macy, Nebraska.

For one hundred years, the Sacred Staff had been at Harvard's "Peabody Museum" for safekeeping (by decision of the tribe a hundred years ago).

The chairman of the tribe, Dorin Morris who is holding the staff is the great-grandson of the last keeper of the staff. On the right, (wearing dark glasses) is Dennis Hastings, who together with anthropologist Robin Ridington and Dorin Morris brought the staff back to the Omaha people. 

Photograph taken with permission of the Omaha Tribal Historical Research Project.