In June of 1967, a summit of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Tribal members met at Mato Paha (Bear Butte). Part of this meeting focused on the return of Ancestral remains and cultural heritage from major institutions. Initiated by Suzanne Shown-Harjo (Muscogee Creek/Cheyenne) and her mother, this meeting would become a catalyst for what is now known as the Repatriation Movement. However, they were only one example of Indigenous women leading the activism for repatriation in the United States. The heightened role of Indigenous women as leaders of the Repatriation Movement created a dialectical response to Indigenous Activism of the time. Parallel to this movement was the American Indian Movement (AIM), which also had critical Indigenous Women as activists, placed in less visible roles than Indigenous men. However, the Repatriation Movement had women like Shown Harjo, Maria Pearson (Yankton Sioux), Laura Miller (Cherokee), and others who not only led aspects of the movement but also the visible face of the movement. This poster seeks to examine the Repatriation Movement through a feminist lens as a reclamation of Indigenous women’s roles in contemporary Indigenous activist movements. By understanding the juxtaposition of women in the Repatriation Movement and AIM, researchers increase understanding of Indigenous women’s roles in modern social movements.
Additionally, this research examines how the Repatriation Movement allowed women to reject the patriarchal influence of colonization that was present in other Indigenous movements and societies of the time. The strength of women who made substantial gains in Indigenous Rights through this movement is an expression of decolonization of Indigenous cultures through re-establishment of women’s roles within Indigenous cultures. Utilizing oral histories and traditional historical research, this research seeks to understand the Repatriation Movement through the voices of Indigenous women and those who knew them.
The design of the poster will share the stories of Indigenous women who were repatriation activists. Combining biography, social history data, and oral history research, the poster will share the story of key Indigenous women’s activism during this time contextualized in the social movements of the time. By being able to understand Repatriation Movement activism by women, compared to other Indigenous social movements, the poster will demonstrate decolinization through a feminist and shared authority lens.
