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Boarding School Healing Coalition to Host Tribal Roundtable on Carlisle Repatriationby Native News Online Staff |
Carlisle: The Icon of an Era In 1879 the first American Indian children arrived at Carlisle Boarding School.
Inviting Tribal Leaders from All the Tribes with Children Buried at Carlisle
MINNEAPOLIS — The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
will be facilitating a Tribal Roundtable Discussion for Carlisle Repatriations on November 30, 2017 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
will be facilitating a Tribal Roundtable Discussion for Carlisle Repatriations on November 30, 2017 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
On August 9, 2017 a group of Northern Arapaho began exhumation of their
children’s remains from the Army War College Cemetery in Carlisle, PA to
the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. The tribal members were there to
repatriate three of their children: Little Chief, Horse, and Little
Plume. Tragically, Little Plume’s grave contained two sets of remains,
neither of which were his.
The number of unknown graves has now gone from 12 to 14 at the Carlisle
cemetery—14 “unknown” children buried at a federal school that they were
forced to attend. A statistic that shouldn’t exist and one that speaks
to the ongoing impacts and historical trauma caused by the disastrous
U.S. Indian Boarding School experiment.
“It’s extremely sad and disappointing for the family who is already
grieving a loss that never should have taken place,” said Christine
Diindiisi McCleave, executive officer of the National Native American
Boarding School Healing Coalition. “It’s showing that there’s more that
needs to be looked into about the boarding schools—the treatment and
care and responsibility that they had to our children, in life and in
death.”
The Northern Arapaho were the first tribe to repatriate their children
from the Carlisle Cemetery. Othe tribes who had express interest in the
Army War College repatriating their children’s remains have been
watching these events unfold with many questions about how the Army will
proceed now that they can’t find Little Plume.
Yufna Soldier Wolf was the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the
Northern Arapaho throughout the process of repatriation at Carlisle this
past summer. She is also related to Little Chief. While she celebrates
the return of Horse and Little Chief who laid buried far from home for
134 years and now rest with their War Chief Families, she is committed
to helping find Little Plume and helping other tribes navigate the
repatriation process.
In September, Soldier Wolf came on board as a consultant to the National
Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition to share information
with other tribes about the repatriation process. She plans to share a
report at the November Tribal Roundtable. “The Boarding School Healing
Coalition acknowledges the efforts of Mrs. Soldier Wolf in the
repatriation of the Northern Arapaho children,” said McCleave. “We are
eager for her to share her knowledge for others going through the
repatriation process at Carlisle and we are excited about welcoming her
onto our team.”
Matthew L. Campbell, Staff Attorney at the Native American Rights Fund,
will also speak at the Tribal Roundtable. Campbell is an enrolled member
of the Native Village of Gambell on the Saint Lawrence Island in Alaska
and has worked on repatriation issues in the past.
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition is
sponsoring the Tribal Roundtable discussion in support of the other
tribes requesting their children’s remains as well as in support of the
tribes who have requested that their children not be disturbed. All
Tribal Leaders whose tribes have children buried at Carlisle Indian
School Cemetery are invited or to designate a representative to attend.
Tribes can apply for scholarship funds to assist with travel costs.
“Our goal is to reach all the 59 tribes who have children buried in the
cemetery to present how the process went for the Arapaho and start a
dialogue for other tribes who may want to repatriate or who would like
for their children to stay in the Army’s cemetery,” said Soldier Wolf.
“We need people to know what’s going on at Carlisle.”
If you would like more information about the Tribal Roundtable, please
visit The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition at http://www.boardingschoolhealing.org/events.
Use the search bar on this blog for more about Carlisle and repatriation.
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