The Ghost Shirt

The Ghost Shirt is a relic believed to have been worn by a Sioux warrior killed in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre. The shirt is plain cotton, has raven, owl, and eagle feathers hanging from the neck, and is pierced in several places with bullet holes. There are slight brown stains of blood, but it cannot be confirmed that the shirt originated from the massacre. Ghost Dance shirts are said to be objects of power to the wearer, and sacred to American Indians. The Lakota Sioux were the only tribe to believe that the ghost shirt clothing would protect them from the bullets of the white man.

In 1891 the shirt was brought to Glasgow, and sold to Kelvingrove Museum by George C. Crager, a member of Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Traveling Show. The shirt was displayed at the museum from 1892 until 1999.

A four-year campaign led by Marcella Le Beau, secretary of The Wounded Knee Association and great-granddaughter of one of the survivors of Wounded Knee, sought the shirt's return to the Lakota people. In November 1998 Glasgow City Council voted to return it after the city residents supported the move. In a gesture of good will, the Ghost Dance Shirt was replaced by another made in 1998 by Marcella Le Beau herself. She said, "This will bring about a sense of closure to a sad and horrible event. Now healing can begin." The Lakota leaders said that the shirt will be displayed at one of the Reservations once a new museum is built. (photos)

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