Fort Peck Tribes Welcome Home Three Ancestors After 135 Years

FORT PECK, MONTANA — The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes gathered on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, to welcome home three children who had been buried at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School cemetery for more than 135 years. The repatriation of Christine Redstone, Richard Morgan, and Peter Howe marks a significant moment of healing and cultural responsibility for the Montana-based Indigenous community. According to ICT reporting, the three students were part of a group that arrived at the notorious boarding school in Pennsylvania on April 15, 1890, after a journey of 1,800 miles. All three succumbed to illness while at the school and were buried far from their homeland. Their return was met with a caravan of approximately 25 vehicles at the Big Muddy Creek Bridge on the eastern border of the reservation. For Lana Fourstar, the arrival fulfilled a long-held wish of her grandmother, Freda Redstone Fourstar, who had often spoken of the need to bring her Aunt Christine home. Dyan Youpee, the Cultural Preservation Director for the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, stated that the repatriation process serves as both an act of grief and an educational opportunity for younger generations. Youpee noted that the inheritance of cultural responsibility is deeply embedded in the community. During the welcome, 17-year-old Dana Buckles sang an honor song for the returning students. As Richard Morgan and Peter Howe had no living relatives, community organizers ensured they were treated as family, emphasizing that no child should return home alone. Melissa Buckles, who attended the arrival with three generations of her family, told ICT that having the children laid to rest among their own people is of vital importance, as many other relatives remain in boarding school cemeteries across the country.