US lawmakers honor geronimo in the midst of skull & bones lawsuit

from afp: The US House of Representatives on Monday approved by voice vote a measure honoring legendary Apache warrior Geronimo's bravery 100 years after his death. The nonbinding resolution honors his life, "his extraordinary bravery, and his commitment to the defense of his homeland, his people, and Apache ways of life." Geronimo - known as Goyathlay in the language of his Chiricahua Apache - died in 1909 at nearly 90 years of age at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He had been held as a prisoner of war for more than 20 years after surrendering to the US military on the understanding he would be allowed to return to his homeland and people. The resolution also "recognizes the 100 anniversary of the death of Goyathlay as a time of reflection of his deeds on behalf of his people." On Febuary 17, twenty of Geronimo's descendants filed suit in a US federal court seeking "to free Geronimo, his remains, funerary objects and spirit from 100 years of imprisonment at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the Yale University campus at New Haven, Connecticut and wherever else they may be found." The remains would be returned to Geronimo's wilderness birthplace in the western United States for a true Apache burial, a key facet of the native American tribe's culture.

and still more on the new lawsuit... bush secret society sued for return of geronimo’s remains
from raw replay: CNN’s Debra Feyerick reported that the relatives of the late Apache warrior Geronimo are suing Yale and the secret Skull and Bones society for the return of Geronimo’s remains.

flashback: geronimo's kin still suing skull & bones over remains

geronimo's kin still suing skull & bones over remains

from ap: Geronimo's descendants have sued Skull and Bones — the secret society at Yale University linked to presidents and other powerful figures — claiming that its members stole the remains of the legendary Apache leader decades ago and have kept them ever since. The federal lawsuit filed in Washington on Tuesday — the 100th anniversary of Geronimo's death — also names the university and the federal government.

Geronimo's great-grandson Harlyn Geronimo said his family believes Skull and Bones members took some of the remains in 1918 from a burial plot in Fort Sill, Okla., to keep in its New Haven clubhouse, a crypt. The alleged graverobbing is a longstanding legend that gained some validity in recent years with the discovery of a letter from a club member that described the theft. "I believe strongly from my heart that his spirit was never released," Harlyn Geronimo said.

Both Presidents Bush, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and many others in powerful government and industry positions are members of the society, which is not affiliated with the university. After years of famously fighting the U.S. and Mexican armies, Geronimo and 35 warriors surrendered to Gen. Nelson A. Miles near the Arizona-New Mexico border in 1886. Geronimo was eventually sent to Fort Sill and died at the Army outpost of pneumonia in 1909.

According to lore, members of Skull and Bones — including former President George W. Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush — dug up his grave when a group of Army volunteers from Yale were stationed at the fort during World War I, taking his skull and some of his bones. Harlyn Geronimo, 61, wants those remains and any held by the federal government turned over to the family so they can be reburied near the Indian leader's birthplace in southern New Mexico's Gila Wilderness.

Their lawsuit also names President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Army Secretary Pete Geren as defendants. "I want them to understand we mean business," said Harlyn Geronimo, who lives in New Mexico. "We're very serious. We're tired of waiting and we're coming after them."

Neither members of Skull and Bones, who closely guard their secrecy, nor the Russell Trust Association, the organization's business arm for tax purposes, could not be reached for comment.

flashbacks: skeleton in the bush family cupboard &
did bush's grandfather steal geronimo's skull?

blair gets protested & booed at yale

from daily mail: Tony Blair was left reeling last night after students disrupted his debut speech at Yale University to protest at his role in taking Britain and America to war in Iraq.

The former Prime Minister, who is normally immensely popular in the US for his support for President George W Bush's 'war on terror', faced an unexpected protest from anti-war protesters when he arrived to give his lecture at the Ivy League university.

Some smuggled banners bearing anti-war slogans into the venue which they held up as Mr Blair was speaking and when he had finished boos could be heard amid the applause.

skeleton in the bush family cupboard

from telegraph: One of America's great historical controversies intensifed yesterday with the publication of fresh evidence that members of an elite secret society may have dug up the remains of the Indian leader Geronimo and displayed his skull in their headquarters.

from cnn: A Yale University historian has uncovered a 1918 letter that seems to lend validity to the lore that Yale University's ultra-secret Skull and Bones society swiped the skull of American Indian leader Geronimo.

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