[h=3]South Dakota tribe seeks children's century-old remains[/h] Posted: May 9, 2016Monday, May 9, 2016 4:51 PM EDT Monday, May 9, 2016 4:51 PM EDT
By REGINA GARCIA CANO
Associated Press ROSEBUD, S.D. (AP) - The remains of at least 10 Native American children who died nearly 2,000 miles away from their homes while being forced to attend a government-run boarding school in Pennsylvania more than a century ago could soon be repatriated under an effort taken up by a South Dakota tribe.
The exhumation and return of the bodies of the children who as students of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School were stripped of their culture and left vulnerable to abuse won't be an easy undertaking. But leaders of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe hope that a meeting with representatives from the U.S. Army and other tribes scheduled for Tuesday will begin the negotiation process to repatriate the remains of the 10 children, and eventually, of the dozens more who died while attending the school as part of an assimilation policy intended to rid the children from Native American traditions and replace them with European culture.
"We are hoping that the United States government will say 'Yes, let's bring your relatives home,'" said Russell Eagle Bear, the historic preservation officer for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. "Back then, the military had total control over us and they took these kids, and especially during those first five years of starting that school, our youth died. Back then in that timeline, our people were basically under almost a hostage situation so our people couldn't go all the way out to Pennsylvania to retrieve loved ones."...
