Nez Perce warrior skull to return to kin

LEWISTON – The skull of a Nez Perce warrior killed by U.S. troops in an 1877 battle and stored at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., for more than a century is being returned to his descendants.

In accordance with the National Museum of the American Indian Act, the skull of Pahkatos Owyeen (Five Wounds) will be turned over to his family in December. Family members plan on burying it near Lapwai.

“I am glad to know at least part of him will be buried here where our others are buried,” granddaughter Nancy Halfmoon, 93, of Lapwai, told the Lewiston Morning Tribune.

Owyeen was killed Aug. 9, 1877, during the battle of Big Hole in Beaverhead County, Mont., said great-grandson Otis Halfmoon of Santa Fe, N.M. According to Indian records, Owyeen went to war with a close friend named Wahchumyus (Rainbow), and the two made a pact they would die on the same day.

During battle that morning, Wahchumyus was killed. Sticking to his word, Pahkatos charged at the U.S. troops in their trenches. He was among about 100 Nez Perce to die in the battle, which was a part of the Nez Perce War of 1877.

His head was cut off and taken with two others to the East Coast, where it was donated to the Army Medical Museum. It arrived at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in 1898, but was never put on display, said Risa D. Arbolino, a case worker for the museum’s repatriation office.

Otis Halfmoon had heard stories of his great-grandfather and what had happened to him. A year ago he contacted the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, asking that the skull be returned to his family.

“Why they kept the heads, I don’t understand,” said Chloe Halfmoon of Lapwai, a great-granddaughter. “I’ve been told they wanted to take them apart and see the vitals. They must have thought we were animals.”

Otis Halfmoon and Chloe Halfmoon plan to travel to the museum in December to retrieve the skull. After the burial, the family plans a memorial dinner.

“The idea of it coming home to be with the family feels so good in my heart,” Chloe Halfmoon said. “And he had his own religion at the time, so I’m sure it’s closure for him as well.”