Mary Pember: How child handcuffs ended up at Haskell center

Thursday, January 10, 2013  

"Shane Murray vividly recalls the scowl on the face of the young Native woman at Haskell Indian Nation University’s Cultural Center when he placed a pair of tiny handcuffs on her desk. “She knew immediately that these were child’s handcuffs and thought I wanted an appraisal of their worth,” he says.

When he explained to the young student that he wanted to donate the handcuffs to the museum, her expression immediately softened, and she suggested he return later to meet with Bobbi Rahder, the Center’s director at the time.

Murray doesn’t remember when, exactly, this happened, but is sure it was in 2006 or 2007. How he came to possess the grim artifact and his experiences with it are aspects of a mysterious story that continues to haunt and amaze him.

He contacted ICTMN after reading the recent story about those tiny handcuffs and how they got to Haskell. In addition to correcting some factual errors, he explained that he wanted to “continue his journey” with the handcuffs."

Get the Story:
Mary Annette Pember: Indian Assimilation: The Mystery of the Tiny Handcuffs, Solved (Indian Country Today 1/10)

Mary Pember: Child handcuffs show the past horrors of Haskell (1/3)