Indigenous Researcher Identifies Ancestor Among Alaska Native Students Set for Repatriation from Carlisle

CARLISLE, PENNSYLVANIA — A profound discovery by an Indigenous research specialist has paved the way for an Alaska Native girl to return home more than 120 years after her death. Nyché Andrew (Yup’ik/Iñupiaq), a specialist with the Alaska Native Heritage Center, identified a personal family connection to Tummassak, a student who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School on 8 April 1900. Working late into the night, Andrew was researching descendants of students buried at the Pennsylvania site when she found a photograph of Tummassak in the Sheldon Jackson Collection. Andrew noted a striking resemblance to her own family, specifically her great-great-grandmother, Mary Agugaq Avessuk. The connection was confirmed by the presence of a tavluġun, a traditional chin tattoo signifying a woman’s maturity, which both Tummassak and Andrew’s ancestor shared. As reported by ICT, Tummassak is one of 12 students being repatriated this year from the Carlisle cemetery. Family members and community leaders from Alaska were scheduled to arrive in Carlisle on Thursday, 24 September 2026, for the disinterment and ceremonial transfer. Tummassak, who arrived at the school in 1897 at age 12, will be returned alongside three other Alaska Native students: Mabel Booth, Edward Angalook, and Lucy Spaulding. The repatriation effort is part of a broader movement to return Indigenous children to their homelands. Benjamin Jacuk (Dena’ina/Sugpiaq), director of research at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, stated that the Office of Army Cemeteries sought the center's help in 2024 to identify families. Andrew described Tummassak as a "special find," noting that as a researcher, she never anticipated uncovering her own family history in the archives. The school’s historical records previously noted Tummassak was "patient, gentle and brave" during her final days.