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Judge dismisses suits over Geronimo remains

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Wednesday, 11 August 2010

Judge dismisses suits over Geronimo remains By S. Derrickson Moore This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it Posted: 08/11/2010 LAS CRUCES- Despite recent legal setbacks, efforts will continue to return Geronimo's remains to his birthplace at the headwaters of the Gila River, according to former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, attorney for a group of relatives of the legendary Apache leader. On Feb.17, 2009, the 100th anniversary of the death of Geronimo, a lawsuit seeking repatriation of Geronimo's remains was filed in Washington, D.C., by Clark on behalf of 20 descendants, including Harlyn Geronimo of Mescalero, who identified himself as the great-grandson of Geronimo. The lawsuit claimed that his remains were stolen in 1918 by members of Skull and Bones, a secret student society at Yale University, from a burial plot at Fort Sill, Okla., where Geronimo died in 1909. According to an Aug. 10 Associated Press story, Federal Judge Richard Roberts last month granted a Justice Department motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the plaintiffs failed to establish that the government waived its right not to be sued. The judge also dismissed the lawsuit against Yale and the society, saying the plaintiffs cited a law that only applies to Native American cultural items excavated or discovered after 1990. Lariat Geronimo of Mescalero, a great-grandson of Geronimo who disputes Harlyn Geronimo's family ties to the historical figure, said his family learned of the dismissals about two weeks ago. He said he was pleased with the news. "It's going to stay there," he said of the Oklahoma gravesite. "If Advertisement they want to keep throwing their money around, go ahead." Lariat Geronimo's family has opposed the repatriation attempt. Those who filed the lawsuit have not given up their fight, Clark said Tuesday in a phone interview form his home in New York. "We're committed to trying to return Geronimo's remnants to the headwaters of the Gila and there is new hope that we can find ways to do it. This judgment does not preclude other efforts," Clark said. "It is shameful that Geronimo's remains would be in Fort Sill in an Apache prisoner of war cemetery in contradiction of his wishes to live and die and be buried in the mountains where he was born." "We have asked the court for an order causing the exhumation of remains to determine that they are Geronimo's and whether all the remains are there," Clark said. Rumors have persisted for decades that members of Skull and Bones used Geronimo's remains in their ceremonies. The secret society claims many prestigious members, including Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush, whose grandfather Prescott Bush allegedly dug up Geronimo's grave when a group of Army volunteers from Yale was stationed at the Ft. Sill during World War I, taking his skull and some of his bones. Phone calls Tuesday to Harlyn Geronimo were not immediately returned. Clark said he has been in touch with the group of Geronimo descendants who filed the lawsuit and plans are in the works. "We have discussed other strategies but no decision has been reached," on best ways to continue to seek return of Geronimo's remains to New Mexico, Clark said. Sun-News reporter Diana M. Alba contributed to this story. http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_15739197

 

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