Bodies of 10 native children returned to families
The bodies of ten native American children buried under a former Indian residential school in Pennsylvania were returned to their tribes this week.
Nine of the children were returned to representatives of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, while one was returned to the Alaskan Aleut tribe.
Over 10,000 Native American children are believed to have attended the government-run Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which operated from 1870 to 1918.
Many children died of disease at these Indian schools, which have been highly criticized for their assimilation practices, forcing students to change their clothing, language, and culture.
The former Carlisle property is now run as part of the U.S. Army War College by the U.S. military, who helped coordinate the return of the ten children's remains.
Dozens of Native American and Alaskan Native families have requested Carlisle to return their relatives' bodies, according to local media reports, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe has negotiated this return for years.
Rosebud tribal representative Russell Eagle Bear said the tribe was planning a ceremony and prayer service for the nine children whose remains were returned to South Dakota.
