Thorpe v. Borough of Thorpe

Jim Thorpe was an Olympic gold medalist who was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma. When Jim died in 1953, his wife, Patricia Thorpe, arranged for him to be buried in the newly organized borough of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania (the borough) (defendant). Jim’s children opposed the burial, wishing him to instead be buried on Sac and Fox tribal land. In 1990 Congress enacted the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) to protect Native American remains and cultural items from institutions that had improperly profited from or exploited Native Americans in the past. Under NAGPRA, museums and federal agencies were required to inventory Native American remains and cultural items, notify the relevant tribes, and return the remains and items upon request. NAGPRA defined museums as any institutions or government agencies that received federal funds and had possession of Native American remains or cultural items. After NAGPRA was enacted, the borough received federal funds. Jim’s son, John Thorpe (plaintiff), filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the borough pursuant to NAGPRA, seeking the return of Jim’s remains to the Sac and Fox Nation. The borough opposed the lawsuit, arguing that it was not a museum. The district court held that the borough was a museum under NAGPRA because it had possession of Jim’s remains and received federal funds. The district court ordered the borough to return Jim’s remains to the Sac and Fox Nation. The borough appealed.