'Tomb raiders': Yale's ultra-secret Skull and Bones Society is believed to possess the skull of legendary Apache chief Geronimo

Diverse Issues in Higher Education, July 12, 2007 by Mary Annette Pember

The federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, signed into law by the elder President Bush, requires institutions and museums that receive federal funding to return human remains, associated grave goods, ceremonial material and other cultural items to their tribes of origin. The law includes provisions for remains discovered on federal lands. Although Yale would fall under the law, spokeswoman Gila Reinstein says student and alumni organizations like Skull and Bones are not necessarily regulated by the university.

"We have no information on their holdings or activities," she says.

Geronimo's great-grandson, Harlyn Geronimo, is continuing his family's efforts to regain his ancestor's remains. He says he and a number of spiritual leaders throughout Indian Country are engaged in ceremonies praying for guidance and the safe return of the remains. He has also said the family is pursuing legal options for the return of the remains.

However, Jeff Houser, chairman of the Fort Sill Apache tribe of Oklahoma, insists that the Skull and Bones story is a hoax. His people, descendents of 80 of Geronimo's tribesmen who elected to stay in Oklahoma after their release from prison in 1913, believe that the leader's remains are still buried at the fort. In keeping with Apache taboos against speaking of or disturbing the dead, they are adamant that his grave will remain undisturbed.

"[Geronimo] is where he should be," says Houser.