Winnebago tribe sues U.S. Army

The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is suing the U.S. Army in federal court to return the remains of two boys who died at a government-run boarding school.

In 1895, Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley of the Winnebago tribe were taken from a reservation in northeast Nebraska to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 by Lieutenant Richard Henry Pratt, it was the first government-run Native American boarding school. Following Pratt’s motto, “Kill the Indian, save the man,” the school’s purpose was forced cultural assimilation. At least 117 children died and were buried at Carlisle before it was closed in 1918.

Gilbert, age 19, died of pneumonia 47 days after he arrived at the school. Hensley, 17 years old when he arrived, spent four years at Carlisle before also dying of pneumonia. Both boys are buried at the school. The Flatwater Free Press reports that both of their headstones are mislabeled with their tribal affiliations marked as “Winnebaloo” and “Winnchaga.” There is no evidence that the Winnebago tribe or their families were informed about the boys’ deaths and burials.

The tribe’s lawsuit relies on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) passed by Congress in 1990. The law establishes a policy that requires the return of lost or stolen human remains and other culturally significant objects from federal institutions and museums.

The Army currently uses a different process for the repatriation of remains requiring a request from the closest living relative of the individual. But for situations like this, finding a living family member is not realistic and may even be impossible. Many of the children at Carlisle didn’t have living parents and the school did not list deceased parents in their files. Hensley was an orphan and though Gilbert had a living mother, her name was not recorded.

The lawsuit argues that the Army should use the process of NAGPRA. Then the tribe only needs to prove the boys’ remains were culturally affiliated with the tribe, instead of providing a descendant.

According to the traditional beliefs of the Winnebago Tribe, the boys’ spirits will remain lost until they are returned home and buried in accordance with the tribe’s customs. “Our beliefs are that their spirits have not continued on their journey that they take to the afterlife … they remain lost,” stated Sunshine Thomas-Bear, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for Winnebago.

By Aubrey Benton