Where Does Jim Thorpe Belong?

AsI have previously discussed, a federal judge recently ruled that under the 1990Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, the remains of famedathlete Jim Thorpe must be moved from Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, to the Sac andFox Reservation in Oklahoma.  The town iscurrently appealing this decision, hoping to keep Jim Thorpe in Jim Thorpe.

Thorpe’sson, William Thorpe, claims his father repeatedly told family members he wantedto be buried in Oklahoma, his native state. When Jim Thorpe died in 1953, his children held an Indian burialceremony on the Sac and Fox Reservation with the athlete’s body in full view.  Thorpe’s widow, Patsy Thorpe, came and seizedthe body and then began “shopping [his] body around the country.”  She ended up cutting a deal with twostruggling Pennsylvania towns that agreed to merge, rename themselves after thegreat athlete, and build a memorial in his honor. 

See David Zucchino, Jim Thorpe, Pa., Fights to Keep its Namesake,Los Angeles Times, Oct. 18, 2013.