New arrivals at Carlisle Indian Industrial School: 13 Northern Arapaho students and two Eastern Shoshone students. Photo from Robert R. Rowe Private Collection / Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center

The Northern Arapaho Tribe of Wyoming is also facing obstacles in its attempt to repatriate of students who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.

The tribe wrote the Army War College -- the military institution that occupies the site -- back in 2007 after learning that Arapaho student Dickens Nor "Little Chief" was buried there. But the response seemed callous, with the college's legal officer describing the cemetery as a tribute to Native people that draws a lot of visitors, The Riverton Ranger reported,

"Basically, he said it's an attraction, a tourism site," Yufna Soldier Wolf, the director of the tribe's historic preservation office told the paper. "We need to make them accountable."

The tribe has since identified other students who are buried there in an attempt to bring them back home under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. But South Dakota Public Radio reported this week that the Army War College doesn't plan to follow the law because it purportedly does not apply to the military.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota also hopes to repatriate students from Carlisle.

Get the Story:
Tribe requesting the return of 3 deceased Arapaho children (AP / The Riverton Ranger 2/10)
Tribe requesting the return of 3 deceased Arapaho children (The Riverton Ranger 2/10)

Related Stories:
Rosebud Sioux Tribe faces obstacles with repatriation of students (2/8)
Northern Arapaho Tribe aims to repatriate remains of students (12/17)