Montana tribes welcome children home from Carlisle school after 135 years
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In Fort Peck, Montana, the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes welcomed home the remains of Christine Redstone, Richard Morgan, and Peter Howe on September 8. The three students died of illness while attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Lana Fourstar, whose great-aunt was Christine Redstone, had long requested her return, remembering her grandmother’s wish.
After more than a century, tribal members escorted the remains from North Dakota to Montana, where community members greeted them as family. Since Richard Morgan and Peter Howe had no known living relatives, the community pledged to act as their family, ensuring they would not be forgotten. Organizers emphasized the importance of recognizing these students as individuals with dreams, not just names in school records.
The remains of Christine Redstone were taken to Frazer, Montana, for a vigil and burial with family, while Morgan and Howe were reburied in the tribal repatriation cemetery in Poplar. The Carlisle Indian Industrial School, founded by Richard Pratt, aimed to assimilate Native American children into white culture, becoming a model for hundreds of similar schools.
Relatives of the students described experiencing intense emotion upon visiting the Carlisle cemetery, feeling both grief and a sense of peace knowing their ancestors were finally returning home. The Fort Peck Tribes faced bureaucratic obstacles in securing the repatriation, highlighting ongoing battles for tribal sovereignty and the rights of Native ancestors.
