{"id":531488,"date":"2026-05-14T15:36:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T20:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=531488"},"modified":"2026-05-15T14:10:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:10:44","slug":"press-release-winnebago-tribe-wins-decision-in-nagpra-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/05\/14\/press-release-winnebago-tribe-wins-decision-in-nagpra-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Release: Winnebago Tribe wins decision in NAGPRA case"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Winnebago\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tWinnebago Tribe of Nebraska v. United States Department of the Army\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals hears arguments in Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska v. United States Department of the Army, No. 24-2081, on September 10, 2025.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"YouTube\"\t\tYouTube\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\r\nIndianz.Com Audio: Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska v. United States Department of the Army<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
In Victory for Tribe Versus the U.S. Army, Court Confirms NAGPRA Applies to Children\u2019s Remains<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, May 14, 2026<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe following is the text of a May 14, 2026 press release from the Winnebago Tribe<\/a>, the Native American Rights Fund<\/a>, Big Fire Law and Policy Group<\/a> and Cultural Heritage Partners<\/a>.<\/em>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nRichmond, Virginia — The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, represented by the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), Big Fire Law & Policy Group LLP, and Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC is celebrating today\u2019s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacating the lower court\u2019s dismissal and holding that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) applies in Winnebago v. Department of the Army<\/a>. The ruling allows the Tribe to proceed with its lawsuit against the U.S. Army seeking repatriation of the remains of Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley, two Winnebago boys who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School more than 125 years ago.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIn the Fourth Circuit\u2019s first decision interpreting NAGPRA, the Court rejected the government\u2019s argument that NAGPRA does not reach Native children buried without consent in the Carlisle boarding school cemetery and held that NAGPRA\u2019s repatriation protections can apply there. The court recognized that these remains are part of a \u201cholding or collection\u201d under NAGPRA and made clear that the Tribe\u2019s request is exactly the kind of remedy Congress intended when it enacted the law to address the long history of Native burial desecration and the retention of Native remains without consent.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIn the opinion, Judge [Pamela] Harris wrote, \u201cAt the end of the day, the U.S. government kept and buried the remains of two Native American schoolchildren, Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley, without their families\u2019 or tribe\u2019s consent after forcing them from their homes and after they died in the government\u2019s care. Nearly a century later, Congress passed a statute that, by its terms, entitles their tribe finally to bring their remains home and to bury them according to their tribal and religious traditions. Nothing in the statute\u2019s text or purpose forecloses that outcome. Quite the opposite: All signs indicate that the Tribe\u2019s repatriation request is precisely the kind of remedy of historic wrongs that NAGPRA was designed to facilitate.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThis decision is a powerful affirmation of Tribal sovereignty, dignity, and the right of Tribal Nations to bring their children home. It acknowledges the profound injustice inflicted on Native families through the federal boarding school system and reinforces that NAGPRA is not limited to museum shelves or boxed collections. NAGPRA applies where federal agencies have retained Native children\u2019s remains without the consent of their families or their Tribe.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\"Albert<\/a>

The Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, is part of the federal court system for the Eastern District of Virginia. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nNARF Senior Staff Attorney Beth Margaret Wright<\/a> explains, \u201cWinnebago\u2019s lawsuit demonstrates its commitment to honor its ancestors and its children; and Winnebago continues to advocate for its rights under NAGPRA to bring Samuel and Edward home and provide them with the Tribal burials they were denied over 125 years ago. The Fourth Circuit recognized that Congress enacted NAGPRA as a remedy for this \u2018shameful injustice\u2019.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nToday\u2019s ruling is a major step toward bringing Samuel and Edward home so they may finally be laid to rest in accordance with Winnebago customs and traditions. It also sends an important message to federal agencies nationwide: NAGPRA must be honored as Congress intended; Native families and Tribal Nations cannot be denied the protections of a law designed to remedy historic wrongs.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThis is an extraordinarily important decision not only for the Winnebago Tribe, but for Tribal Nations across the country seeking to ensure that federal agencies finally comply with the laws enacted to help address the profound and multigenerational trauma inflicted by the federal Indian boarding school system,\u201d said Greg Werkheiser of Cultural Heritage Partners<\/a>, cocounsel for the Tribe.\r\n

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\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\u2018Bring our kids home\u2019: Winnebago Tribe in court over children buried at Indian boarding school\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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The Winnebago Tribe is hoping to set a strong precedent at one of the most infamous Indian boarding schools in the nation.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"Indianz.Com\"\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska\u2019s Chairman, Chairman [Coly] Brown stated, \u201cThe Fourth Circuit\u2019s ruling brings joy to the Tribe. As the Court recognized, it would be a disservice to find NAGPRA does not protect the Winnebago’s right to bring home Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley for proper burials, according to our traditional practices. NAGPRA is an important statute our relatives fought for and is meant to \u201caddress the desires of Indians to bury their dead,\u201d a right \u201cfor too long ignored.\u201d \r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe case now returns to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for further proceedings.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

4th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision<\/div>\r\nWinnebago Tribe of Nebraska v. U.S. Department of the Army<\/a> (May 14, 2026)\r\n

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Related Stories<\/div>
\u2018Bring our kids home\u2019: Winnebago Tribe in court over children buried at Indian boarding school<\/a> (July 16, 2024)<\/div>
Winnebago Tribe sues for return of children buried at Indian boarding school<\/a> (January 17, 2024)<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Fourth Circuit\u2019s ruling brings joy to the Tribe,” said Winnebago Chairman Coly Brown.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":531709,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18,11,20,13,1,31],"tags":[7451,7452,7086,418,7454,7458,7455,7457,410,8,69,1045,7456,756,68,102],"class_list":["post-531488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-environment","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-press-release","tag-4th-circuit","tag-angpra","tag-beth-margaret-wright","tag-boarding-schools","tag-coly-brown","tag-cultural-heritage-partners","tag-edward-hensley","tag-greg-werkheiser","tag-law-firms","tag-narf","tag-nebraska","tag-pennsylvania","tag-samuel-gilbert","tag-virginia","tag-winnebago","tag-youth","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15\/AlbertVBryanUnitedStatesCourthouse.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-2ego","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531488"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":531792,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531488\/revisions\/531792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}