A family from Ketchikan traveled to Carlisle Barracks Post Cemetery in Pennsylvania to repatriate Mabel Stack, a young girl who died in 1904 while attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Mabel, along with three other Alaska Native children, was disinterred in a process involving the Office of Army Cemeteries (OAC).
Marilyn Stack, Mabel’s closest living relative, worked with the OAC for a year to secure the permissions needed for her ancestor’s disinterment. Marilyn described it as emotional and difficult to think of bringing Mabel home, especially given the trauma of being separated from her family at such a young age. Mabel died of tuberculosis at age 11 after being sent to Carlisle, a school established to assimilate Native American children into Euro-American culture.
The Carlisle Indian Industrial School operated from 1879 to 1918, and many students died while enrolled. The OAC has conducted disinterment programs since 2017, with plans to return more children to their home communities.
Marilyn couldn’t attend due to personal reasons, so she appointed a cousin, Ahl’lidaaw Gitnack’angeak, to represent her. Ahl’lidaaw emphasized the emotional weight of the disinterment. Before the disinterment, she prepared by drawing on her knowledge of Tsimshian traditions, intending to perform ceremonies that honor the deceased.
During the disinterment, Ahl’lidaaw and other family members participated in honoring the children through ceremonies and shared their experiences with Marilyn via phone. They brought special materials like red muslin, cedar boughs, and eagle feathers to care for Mabel’s remains.
Pending identification, Mabel’s remains were scheduled to be sent back to Ketchikan, marking a poignant step in reconnecting with her ancestral heritage and acknowledging the historical trauma inflicted upon Native communities.
