NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by descendants of Apache warrior Geronimo that claimed his remains were stolen in 1918 by a student secret society at Yale University.
The lawsuit was filed last year in Washington, D.C., by 20 descendants who want to rebury Geronimo near his New Mexico birthplace. It claimed Skull and Bones members took remains from a burial plot at Fort Sill, Okla., where Geronimo died in 1909.
Judge Richard Roberts last month granted a Justice Department motion to dismiss, saying the plaintiffs failed to establish that the government waived its right not to be sued.
He also dismissed the lawsuit against Yale and the society, saying the plaintiffs cited a law that only applies to Native American cultural items excavacted or discovered after 1990. Skull and Bones is not affiliated with Yale.
