1. BATTLE FOR THE BONES
Thorpe v. The Borough of Jim Thorpe
By Todd Leahy--March 8,2013
Sunday, March 3, 13

2. RISE OF THE WORLD’S
GREATEST ATHLETE
*Born 28 May 1888
Shawnee, OK
*First Football Experience
*Carlisle Indian Industrial School
*Carlisle Track & Football
*Minor League Baseball
*Olympics
*National Football League
*Hollywood
Sunday, March 3, 13

3. RISE OF THE WORLD’S
GREATEST ATHLETE
✤ They thought I was the Indian I was only
pretending to be. After a while, I started
believing it too. How could I not? They
wanted me to be a certain kind of Indian,
and when I acted like that kind of
Indian...those white people loved me.
✤ --Sherman Alexie
Sunday, March 3, 13

4. JIM THORPE: AMERICAN
LEGEND
PATSY THORPE
*Intelligent, witty, and observant
Patsy was also an alcoholic,
manipulative, mercurial, predatory,
and sometimes cruel and unbalanced.
Jim’s sons and most of his daughters
were convinced that she had married
their father solely to exploit him.
Sunday, March 3, 13

5. AN AGING ICON
✤ Patsy charges $500-$1000 for any Jim Thorpe appearance
✤ All money made spent on jewelry & furs
✤ Public blow ups
✤ Forrest Hopkins, The North East Star
✤ Dies March 28, 1953 of heart attack
Sunday, March 3, 13

6. END OF AN ERA
✤ “You are probably the greatest athlete this
country has ever known and as such are a
legend to American youth. It is a pity that a
situation like this should have occurred”
✤ Judge at Thorpe Drunk Driving Trial
Sunday, March 3, 13

7. REMEMBERING A HERO
✤ SHAWNEE, CARLISLE, OR ARMY WAR COLLEGE
✤ $10,000 MEMORIAL AT SHAWNEE
✤ 3000 ATTEND OPEN CASKET MEMORIAL
✤ SAC AND FOX CEREMONY
✤ PATSY’S EVER-RISING DEMANDS
Sunday, March 3, 13

8. PATSY IN MAUCH CHUNK, PA
*pop. 4900
*80 mi NE of
Philadelphia
*$10,000
Sunday, March 3, 13

9. JIM THORPE, PA
“Tourists seldom
come here because
they want to learn
about Jim Thorpe”
--John Drury,
resident
Sunday, March 3, 13

10. MEMORIAL & GRAVE
Sunday, March 3, 13

11. LAWSUIT BEGINS
Jim’s children file NAGPRA action
Sunday, March 3, 13

12. NAGPRA IN A NUTSHELL
✤ Cultural Affiliation
✤ Cultural Patrimony
✤ Museum
✤ Role of Consent
✤ Legal position of a corpse
Sunday, March 3, 13

13. NAGPRA IN COURT
✤ Wana The Bear v. Community Construction, Inc.
✤ State (OH) v. Glass
✤ Carter v. City of Zanesville (OH)
✤ Yankton Sioux Tribe v. US Army Corps of Engineers
✤ Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas v. Chacon
Sunday, March 3, 13

14. THORPE V. BOROUGH OF JIM
THORPE
✤ Attempts without courts
✤ Plaintiff’s position
✤ Defendant’s position
✤ Court ordered mediation
Sunday, March 3, 13

15. THORPE V. BOROUGH OF JIM
THORPE
✤ Does NAGPRA apply?
✤ Is there a winning argument?
✤ Support for the argument?
✤ Will the court ever decide?
✤ Lineal descent
✤ Joinder of Sac and Fox
Sunday, March 3, 13

16. JIM THORPE AFTER JIM
THORPE?
✤
*Thomas McBride, owner of a local Irish themed business, stated
that the town should be compensated if it loses the remains. If
the $10,000 spent on the memorial had been invested instead
(even at 5% interest) the town would now have more than
$150,000
Sunday, March 3, 13