A photo of a man named Robert McGee, showing effects of his having been scalped as a child. The act of scalping is the removal of a person's scalp or a portion thereof. Although it is associated with Native American tribes, contrary to popular belief it was far from universally practiced, and in fact was done by natives, colonists, and frontiersmen over centuries of violent conflict.Photo: E. E. Henry; Restoration: Michel Vuijlsteke