Anchorage, Alaska — The Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) is honored to share the historic bringing home of four Ancestors, Alaska Native children who were taken from their homelands, sent to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, where they later died, and have remained buried in the Carlisle Cemetery in Pennsylvania for more than a century.
More than 100 years after their deaths, Edward Angalook (Iñupiaq), Lucy Spaulding (Tsimshian), Mabel Stack (Tsimshian), and Tummassak (Iñupiaq), will finally return to Alaska. Their homecoming marks a significant moment for their families and communities and for the ongoing work to reckon with the history and lasting impacts of the federal Indian boarding school system on Alaska Native people.
Four Ancestors Coming Home
Edward Angalook, who was raised by renowned Unalakleet reindeer herder Sinrock Mary, arrived at Carlisle at age 18. He died in 1905 at the age of 20, far from his home and community.
Lucy Spaulding of Metlakatla and Mabel Stack of Loring were taken to Carlisle together in 1903. Lucy died in 1905 at the age of 16, and Mabel died at the age of 12. Both died of tuberculosis. After more than a century apart from their homelands, they will now return to Alaska together, just as they left.
Tummassak, originally from the Shishmaref region, was taken from the Teller Reindeer Station in 1897 after being transported aboard the USS Bear. It remains unclear how she got from Shishmaref to Teller. She was approximately 12 years old when she was removed from Alaska. Three years later, at just 15 years of age, she died of tuberculosis while attending Carlisle.
These were children and young people who should have had the opportunity to grow up surrounded by their families, cultures, communities, and homelands. Instead, they died thousands of miles from home and remained there for generations.
The Journey Home
The process of bringing the children home will begin during the final week of September and will conclude on September 30, National Orange Shirt Day. The annual day of remembrance honors the children who never returned home from Indian residential and boarding schools, as well as the survivors, families, and communities who continue to live with the legacy of those institutions.
In the days that follow, descendants, the family members of Edward, Lucy, Mabel and Tummassak, will accompany them on their final journey home to Alaska. After more than a century away, they will finally be laid to rest among their people and in the lands to which they have always belonged.
In partnership with family members and the Office of Army Cemeteries, ANHC Indigenous Research Department, Benjamin Jacuk (Dena’ina, Sugpiaq), Sophia Dupras (Unangax̂), and Nyché Andrew (Yup’ik, Iñupiaq) helped identify the ancestral communities and living descendants of Alaska Native students who were taken from their homelands and sent to Carlisle. This research has helped reconnect families and communities with Ancestors whose lives and deaths were separated from their homelands for generations and has supported the process of bringing these four relatives home.
Carlisle was one of the most notorious federal Indian boarding schools in United States history. Established as part of a broader government assimilation policy, Carlisle sought to strip Indigenous children of their languages, cultures, identities, and connections to their families and communities. Its founding superintendent, Richard Henry Pratt, infamously described its mission as: “Kill the Indian, save the man.”
“This is a moment that our Ancestors and families have waited more than 100 years for. Edward, Lucy, Mabel and Tummassak, should never have been taken from their homes, families, and communities,” said Kelsey Ciugun Wallace (Yup’ik), President & CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center. “They should have had the opportunity to grow up surrounded by their people, their cultures, and the lands that knew them. There is immense pain in this history, but there is also profound meaning in seeing families and communities rightfully bring their relatives home to rest in eternal peace. We are deeply grateful to the families for trusting ANHC to walk alongside them as, more than a century later, these four Ancestors finally return home.”
“There is something both incredibly powerful and deeply heartbreaking about bringing our Ancestor Uncle Edward Angalook home from Carlisle: our family didn’t know he was there,” said Emily Edenshaw. “If it weren’t for the work of Ben Jacuk, Nyché Andrew, and the Alaska Native Heritage Center to identify our Ancestors and reconnect them with their families and communities, we may never have known. I keep thinking about how many of our Ancestors are still resting far away from their homelands and how many families, like mine, have no idea where their relatives are. For me, bringing Uncle Edward home is more than repatriation—it is an act of love, sovereignty, responsibility, and healing. We cannot change what happened to our family members, but we can tell the truth, speak their names, honor them, and bring them home. After generations away, Uncle Edward is finally coming home to his people, his lands, and his waters. This time, we will be here to welcome him.”
The Alaska Native Heritage Center extends its deepest gratitude to the descendants and families who have carried the memories and stories of these Ancestors across generations, as well as the Tribal leaders, communities, partners, and Office of Army Cemeteries whose commitment and collaboration have helped make their return possible.
About the Alaska Native Heritage Center
The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a nonprofit organization that preserves and strengthens the traditions, languages and arts of Alaska’s Native Peoples through statewide collaboration, celebration and education. To learn more, visit www.alaskanative.net.
