‘Coming Home’: Shoshone Teen Della Tuscarora Atkins Repatriated After 126 Years

The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes have repatriated the remains of Della Tuscarora Atkins, a 17-year-old woman who died while enrolled at the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School in Pennsylvania 126 years ago. Atkins arrived at Carlisle on December 12, 1900, and died 13 days later on Christmas Day from complications related to advanced brain cancer. Her body was buried at the school, and because her name was misspelled in records, her family was not notified.

Transfer and Community Ceremony

After researchers identified and verified living relatives, Atkins' descendants traveled to Pennsylvania to receive her remains. A formal transfer ceremony was held in which the Executive Director of the Office of Army Secretaries presented gifts to the family on behalf of the U.S. Army. A uniformed escort carried Atkins' remains to the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Nevada, where the convoy was met at the reservation's northern gate with traditional song, prayer, and community welcome.

Voices From the Ceremony

“No person, especially a child, should go through this,” said Stacey Montooth, Executive Director of the Nevada Department of Native American Affairs, speaking at the family's request. “And yet they did, she did. We owe it to the federal government and to ourselves to correct that grave wrong, and we are doing that today.”

Atkins' descendants released a statement describing the emotional and spiritual significance of bringing Della home. They called the repatriation a chance to correct a long-standing error and described the return as both a moment of grief and a time for celebration, noting traditional signs—such as dust devils—as part of their cultural welcome.

Historical Context and Ongoing Efforts

The Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School operated from 1879 to 1918 and enrolled more than 7,800 children and young adults from across the continent. Records indicate that 190 Native people died while at Carlisle. The U.S. Army is conducting rounds of repatriation to return remains to tribal nations; this effort is part of the Army's ninth round of repatriations, scheduled to conclude in October. Atkins is one of twelve children who died at Carlisle and are being returned to their tribes in this phase.

This repatriation is part of broader reconciliation efforts to acknowledge past harms, restore respectful treatment of ancestors, and support healing for affected families and communities.

Atkins' descendants: “For 126 years, Della was buried thousands of miles away from her family, her people, and her homeland. Bringing Della home is just the start for us here.”