(Ethete, WY) – The Episcopal Church will host a repatriation ceremony in Ethete next week marking the return of about 200 sacred items to the Northern Arapaho Tribe.
The collection was deeded to the church by Edith May Adams in 1946 “to be held in safekeeping for the tribes of the Wind River Reservation,” the event description states.
“For decades, this collection has been kept safely in storage at the offices of the Episcopal Church of Wyoming,” the description says.
In 2012, the church entered into an agreement with the Northern Arapaho Tribe to loan “a small number of artifacts” for display in the Northern Arapaho Cultural Experience Room at the Wind River Hotel and Casino, according to the event description.
“At that time, conversations also began about the ultimate return of the artifacts to the Arapaho people,” the description states. “Twelve years later, the decision was made to formally transfer ownership and physical custody of the artifacts to the Arapaho people. It is time.”
The Coming Home Celebration will begin at 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14 – Indigenous Peoples’ Day – at St. Michael’s Circle in Ethete, with a community meal to follow.
For more information, click here.