The remains of four Alaska Native students who died while attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School are finally returning home. After more than a century, Tummassak, Mabel Booth, Edward Angalook, and Lucy Spaulding are among 12 students being repatriated from the school's cemetery this year.
The repatriation effort, led by the Office of Army Cemeteries, involves disinterring the remains of students buried at the Carlisle cemetery in Pennsylvania. The Alaska Native Heritage Center played a crucial role in identifying relatives of the students, following a request from the Office of Army Cemeteries in 2024.
Records indicate that 127 Alaska students attended Carlisle, with 14 dying and being buried there. The school, which operated from 1879 to 1918, aimed to assimilate Native American students into White society, often at the cost of their cultural identity.
According to Alaska's News Source, Tummassak, who arrived at Carlisle in 1897, died of tuberculosis in 1900. Her relative, Nyché Andrew, discovered their connection through a photograph.
ICT News reports that Lucy Spaulding and Edward Angalook also succumbed to tuberculosis while at the school. Mabel Booth's remains, however, were not found in her marked grave, leaving her family in search of answers.
The repatriation process highlights the ongoing efforts to return Native American students to their homelands, a movement that began in 2017. Despite the challenges, the return of these students marks a significant step in healing and honoring their memories.