I HOPE that the Repatriation Committee of Glasgow City don't decide to send the ghost dance shirt back to the USA. If they do it will only be put into storage until the money becomes available for the Wounded Knee Museum to be built some years in the future.
The Glasgow shirt is not unique. There are other ghost dance shirts in American museums which unquestionably did come from Wounded Knee, unlike the one in Glasgow which will probably always be of doubtful origin. These shirts will be available for the new museum when it's built. One more won't make a significant difference to this museum's display.
The Glasgow ghost dance shirt is, however, unique in Europe. It can do much more for world understanding of what happened at Wounded Knee if it is allowed to remain on display here. If the committee is absolutely determined to give it back, surely it would be best to do so when the new museum opens. Meanwhile it can go on fulfilling the very valuable role it has at present, educating people about this massacre, instead of languishing, unseen, in a museum store.
Julian Spalding,
90 Grassmarket, Edinburgh.
November 15.
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