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The U.S. Army plans to exhume the remains of 19 children who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and return them to their families. The disinterment operations will begin on September 5 at the Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania, with assistance from forensic experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to ABC27.
The children, who were from various Native American tribes including the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, were buried at the site when the school was operational from 1879 to 1918. The Yahoo News reported that the cemetery will be closed to visitors from August 15 until October 13 while the operations are underway.
The Carlisle Indian Industrial School was one of many institutions where Native American children were sent as part of a U.S. policy to assimilate them into white society. The school had about 8,000 Native American students from over 100 tribes. Many children died from diseases and were buried at the school, while others were returned to their tribes.
Karen Durham-Aguilera, Executive Director of Army National Military Cemeteries, expressed gratitude to the tribes for their commitment to bringing their loved ones home. The U.S. Army has been conducting disinterment operations at Carlisle for eight years, and nine children's remains were returned to their families in 2024.