Letters: Return of American Indian remains long overdue

Return of remains

is long overdue

The removal of American Indian children from their families beginning in 1879 is a dark and truly evil chapter in our history ("On Indians' land, Army hears plea for remains," May 11).

As I read about relatives of the chidren asking for their remains to be returned to their homes, I became heartbroken and outraged. These children lost everything - their families, their culture, their religion, their rightful heritage, and finally their lives at the hands of the ignorant and brutal white authorities at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. This was truly cultural genocide.

Nearly 200 of these poor innocents lie buried on the grounds of what is now the Army War College. The U.S. Army has no right to these sacred remains. These children need to go home to their families and their respective tribes immediately. It should have been done a long time ago out of basic human compassion and moral dignity. Shame on the Army.

|Jane Whiting, Hammonton, jimwchrz@hotmail.com