When Alyson White Eagle-SoundingSides first discovered her grandfather’s headdress was in the British Museum, she began planning out how she could travel to see such an important part of her ancestral history.
“I found out that the British Museum had the headdress right around the time the class [Stealing Culture] was being advertised. The chairman of the Arapaho Business Council, Jordan Dresser, encouraged me to go on the trip in the hopes that I’d be able to see it,” said White Eagle-SoundingSides.
Yet seeing the headdress would require jumping through some hoops and verification. Alyson’s professor Nicole Crawford took initiative to help her see the headdress.
“I had to interview to be able to go and during the interview, I mentioned the headdress to Nicole and Professor Jackson and asked if it would be a possibility to see it. Nicole said she would be willing to use her connections in the museum world to hopefully create that opportunity,” said White Eagle-SoundingSides.
Through the Stealing Culture course, White Eagle-SoundingSides met Darby Clark, who quickly became a good friend as well as an invited guest to undergo the process of reuniting with the headdress.
“She said she could only bring one person with her and asked me if I would go. I was so honored that she would ask me, and I was so proud to go with her to see this headdress. This was also the day that she had first said that she would be the first Arapaho to see the headdress in 100 years.”
Soon after arriving in London, White Eagle-SoundingSides and Clark received permission to view the headdress.
“When we got to London, I asked Alyson away from the group if she had heard anything about being able to see the headdress. She told me that it was happening and we both just cried together,” said Clark.
White Eagle-SoundingSides shared she felt a similar wave of emotions.
“I was thankful to see the headdress intact. It was in really good condition, and I was just overall really happy to be able to have the opportunity to see it. But then, almost immediately, I felt sadness,” said White Eagle-SoundingSides.
“This headdress is so far away from my people and our home, and it was sad to me knowing the stories I’ve heard about how it was taken. I was very humbled to have had the opportunity to see it, so there were a lot of overwhelming emotions that I was feeling at once.”
Now, White Eagle-SoundingSides hopes to get the headdress back to its rightful owners.
“Ideas are being discussed. There’s got to be a lot of research done and work with the Arapaho tribal elders and the rest of the community. I hope that this is something we can get done.”
