Winnebago tribe challenges Army's control over Carlisle cemetery remains

The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is appealing a lower court's decision that ruled the U.S. Army doesn't have to repatriate the remains of two Indigenous children buried at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School cemetery in Pennsylvania. The tribe argues that the Army is exploiting the cemetery by conducting research and other activities that do not respect the sovereignty and traditions of Indigenous people.

The remains of Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley, among at least 180 children buried there, were disturbed during construction of the Army War College after the school closed in 1918. The tribe is pushing for the return of the children's remains under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The Army, however, claims the site is exempt from the law.