The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-09-29
MARKS TRIBES DECAY
SACRED POLE OF THE OMAHA IN
DIANS AND IT'S HISTORY
EaiGue symbol of Departed GIOries
Finds Resting Place in the
Harvard Museum of
EthnOIOGy.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass, Sept. Y.-(Spe-
cial.)-The Sacred Pole of the Omahas
which is now on exhibition in one of the
halls o. the Peabody museum of archae-
ology and ethnology at Harvard has a
cerain romantic interest which is not
possessed, perhaps, by any other object
an the unique collection of relics of the
North American Indian by which it is
surrounded Here are ancient Wampum
belts, hunting shirts of deerskin decorat-
ed with pOrcupine quilts, leggins or moe
caSins that might have belonged to one
OF Cooper's heroic red men a bow which
dates back to the Massachusetts tribes OF
the seventeenth century, a belt which IS
credibly supposed to have been worn by
King Philip, and scores of articles of
Use or ornament, the very art of making
which has persisted In many respects
this collection is not equaled in the
world; it includes the acquisitions of gen.
eratlonS of exploration and adventure;
and If destroyed the loss would be abso-
tutely hreparable. But in some ways the
Sacred Pole of the Omahas stand alone
It's very presence in Cambridge has its
special significance. It was not collect
ed, in the usual sense; but after serving
Tor more than 200 years-and for how
much longer no one knoWS-to bind to-
Sether a famous tribe into something
ike national unity it was formally in
trusted by the last chiefs of the Omahas
to the safekeeping of the Peabody
museum, so that with the other objects
at their sacred. ceremonies itsmight here
be preserved as d memorial of the former
power Of the Omahas long after their de-
cay and tribal extinction.
IL would be hard to miss the note OF
sathos In this gift. It IS, indeed, almost
without precedent that the most sacred
possessions OF a people should be vol
unfairly surrendered by their eustodi-
ans as the Sacred Pole and the other
contents Of the sacred tents were sur
rendered by the Omahas. The time came.
however, when It was no longer possible
10 Keep up the tribal obserVances. The
first intention of the chiefs had been to
bury the ceremonial objects with the
bones of their former guardians Miss
Alice c. Fletcher, however, well known
for her studies Of the North American In
GIan and special assistant of the. Pea
body museum, was then living among the
Omahas, gathering the fast perishing ma
Terial Of their history and beliefs Per-
maps no one would have appreciated
more keenly the loss to science involved
ia such a disposal Of these sacred relics
For several years, therefore, she worked
almost necessarily for their preservation.
with the result that largely by the in
7iuence of Joseph La Flesche. the head
els, the pole and it's pack, together with
the contents of the great war tent, were
transmitted to Cambridge some twelve
years ago, for perpetual preservation in
The Peabody museum.
In her published description of the pole
Miss Fletcher explains that the Omaha
tribe was composed Of some ten villages
which camped together in horseshoe form
in a definite order. This encampment
f3ta1 hT~oa
ing the paraphernalia of war. being in
front of the sO-called We-jin-shte village.
while the other two were set side by side
in front of the Honga village.
One of these contained the hide of the
white buffalo cow and was decorated
with stalks of corn in full ear The
second ornamented with round red spots.