Federal appeals court rules NAGPRA applies in Carlisle boarding school case

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act applies in the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska’s effort to recover the remains of two boys who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School more than a century ago. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision and found the tribe is entitled to seek repatriation of Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley under federal law.

According to reporting by ICT, the Winnebago Tribe filed suit in 2024 after the U.S. Office of Army Cemeteries denied the tribe’s request to return the boys’ remains. The court ruling sends the case back to a lower court for further proceedings. Winnebago Chairman Coly Brown said the decision “brings joy to the tribe,” while Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition policy director Ponka-We Victors-Cozad called the ruling “a step forward” in efforts to return Native children buried at boarding schools to their tribal communities.