Jim Thorpe

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Jim Thorpe’s remains, currently in a tomb in the town of Jim Thorpe, can remain where they are.

Previously a U.S. District Court had ruled that the remains had to be sent back to Oklahoma under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.  This law, passed in 1990, said that the remains of Indians had to be returned to their tribal areas.  Museums had been treating Indian remains as artifacts., and the law’s purpose was to end that rather creepy treatment of Indian bones.

The Court of Appeals ruled that the town of Jim Thorpe was not a museum, and that Thorpe family members approved of the town’s actions.  This was less a dispute about repatriating remains than it was about an intra-family dispute.

I personally am pleased with the decision.  I think the town has done a good job of treating Jim Thorpe’s legacy with honor and respect.  When we have out-of-town visitors, we always stop by the tomb, and our visitors read the story of Thorpe’s life.  Every visitor I’ve have seen is quiet and respectful.