Dustin White

Editor

He was said to be the greatest athlete to ever live. A man who not only succeeded, but excelled, in every sport he attempted. He would achieve a level of greatness that few obtain, becoming a living legend. But his life, and his death, was also marred with hardship; hardships that continue today, as a battle over Jim Thorpe’s body ensues.

During the life of Thorpe, who was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, he would make a name for himself as one of the most versatile athletes to ever play. That name would be cemented after the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, where Thorpe stood out as the star.

Capturing the gold in both the pentathlon and decathlon at the Olympics, a feat no other athlete has achieved, while also setting records that would stand for decades, he would be given a title that stuck. As he was being presented his gold medals, King Gustav V, the presenter, stopped Thorpe, and declared, “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.”







Upon returning home, Thorpe had become one of the first sport’s superstars. And it didn’t stop at just the Olympics. That same year, Thorpe would become the first athlete to hit a home run and score a touchdown in the same season.

His achievements would become so recognized, that Thorpe had the honor of becoming the first president of the organization that became the NFL.

However, at that age of 41, that shining career had to be set aside. The Great Depression would settle upon the country, as well as Thorpe. While Thorpe would find moderate success in Hollywood, as well as on the lecture circuit, the end of his life was marked by struggle. He would suffer the rest of his life from alcoholism, failing health and poverty.

Death

The life of Thorpe would come to a tragic end in 1953. On March 28, Thorpe went into his third heart failure. While he would be briefly revived by artificial respiration, it just prolonged the inevitable. He was just 64 years old when he passed away.

At the time of Thorpe’s death, he had made his home in Lomita, Calif., with his third wife Patricia. After Thorpe’s passing, Patricia didn’t want to see her husband’s legacy also pass away, and went to work to preserve that memory.

“When Thorpe died, Patsy first went to Oklahoma, and asked them to build a mausoleum,” John Thorpe, Jim Thorpe’s grandson said. “She didn’t want him to just be buried in ground. The governor turned her down. She took the body out of the ceremonial burial, and started looking for a place that would honor Thorpe.”

The act of removing Thorpe’s body from the ceremonial burial was a controversial move; one that nearly all parties agree was shameful, but as John said, “It was a terrible thing to do. But she did what she did, and its now done and over with. He’s in the ground, so now leave him alone.”

Patricia would eventually find a suitable location though, on the east coast.

“Patsy got a hold of some people in East and West Mauch Chunck Penn., which is now Jim Thorpe, and they made a deal,” John said. “The town wanted to change it’s perspective. Some said it was for money, but there is no evidence for that. There are no receipts or the like.”

Mauch Chunck would change its name to Jim Thorpe, and over the years, the city has strived to honor their name sake.

“It’s a very beautiful area. Just gorgeous,” John said. “Statues have been built, history plaques have been laid out. They take super good care of it. My brother and I just love those people.”

The town also holds an annual birthday celebration in honor of Thorpe, which has become a big deal. Every third weekend in May, the city hosts a number of activities, including a Special Olympics.

Moving Thorpe

Thorpe would find a bit of rest in the city of Jim Thorpe, but that rest would be cut short as battles over his body began to ensue.

A dividing line was eventually drawn, which saw the daughters and sons of Thorpe on opposite sides. While his daughters supported keeping his body in the city of Jim Thorpe, his sons began to work to have his body removed and reinterred in Oklahoma, where it would be laid to rest near a casino.

But the real battle wouldn’t ensue until the last of the daughters, John’s Aunt Grace, passed away.

“If my grandpa had told my Aunt Grace that he wanted to be buried in Oklahoma, you can believe that he would be in Oklahoma,” John said. “You just didn’t mess with my Aunt Grace, and all my uncles knew it. That’s why they waited for her to go, as they didn’t want the mess.”







It was that support from the women in his family, their wishes to keep Thorpe buried where he is, that made the endeavor quite important for John.

“All of them (Thorpe’s daughters) were very much in favor of keeping my grandfather buried in Jim Thorpe,” John said. “My uncles and everyone waited until the last of my aunts passed away to file the lawsuit.”

One of the vocal supporters of John’s battle has been Ernie LaPointe, the great-grandson of Tatanka Iyotake, Sitting Bull. For him, the matter is quite simple.

“In native culture, they had values,” LaPointe said. “There was an ultimate respect for females, who are back bone of their culture. The tribe in Oklahoma has forgotten about that.”

LaPointe said that the reason that the Sac and Fox tribe has forgotten about this tradition is that they have assimilated to American culture, and with that, history begins to fade.

“A lot of the culture has vanished, and there is no one to tell them again,” LaPointe said.

But John has also found additional reasons to keep up the fight to have his grandfather remain in Jim Thorpe: Thorpe is at peace.

“During a Sundance in 2010, on the third day of that dance, the medicine man invited me into the sweat lodge with him and the dancers,” John said. “He said that he had been contacted by Thorpe, and said that he was at peace, and didn’t want any more pain done in his name.”

That message cemented the idea for John that his grandfather’s remains just had to be left alone. With that in mind, John has found additional reasons for Thorpe to remain buried in Jim Thorpe; it’s an ideal area, which is off the beaten path.

“My grandpa was a shy person,” John said. “He didn’t like a lot of accolades or people looking at him. Jim Thorpe, Penn., is more off the beaten path. My Grandpa would like that. He wouldn’t want to be by a casino.”

Court case

Shortly before John had his conversation with the medicine man in 2010, a new series of legal battles had begun to happen revolving around moving Thorpe’s body.

That year, Jack Thorpe, John’s uncle and Thorpe’s son with his second wife, filed a lawsuit to move Thorpe to Oklahoma. Citing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, Jack argued that the town of Jim Thorpe equated to a museum, and thus, Thorpe’s remains should be returned to his family.

However, Jack had waited to begin the lengthy lawsuit. He waited for Patricia to die, which she did in 1974. He also waited for his half-sisters to die, with Grace, the most adamant that their father remain where he is, passing away in 2008, at the age of 86.

The reason for waiting, as Jack said, was because they “didn’t want to iron this out in public.” However, while the sisters had passed away, their wishes would be continued on by one of their sons, John.

“John is the one carrying this load,” LaPointe said. “He is trying to keep both sides.”

On Feb. 11, 2011, Judge Richard Caputo ruled that Jack could not gain any monetary award, or attorney’s fee, in the lawsuit. More importantly, it was ruled that if the lawsuit were to continue, additional members of Thorpe’s family, as well as the Sac and Fox Nation, would have to join him as plaintiff.

Eleven days later, Jack would pass away before he could respond to the ruling. But it wouldn’t be the end. His brothers, William and Richard Thorpe, and the Sac and Fox Nation, joined the lawsuit, allowing it to continue.

Part of the claim that would surface was that it was Thorpe’s life-long wish to have a traditional burial on tribal land in Oklahoma. Yet, without a will, or other clear evidence for such a claim, the battle would be long and uphill. In addition, with Thorpe’s wife having picked the burial place, and his daughters having supported leaving Thorpe where he was laid to rest, there would be many obstacles in their path.







Two years later, Caputo had ruled in favor of William and Richard, stating that the borough of Jim Thorpe did indeed amount to a museum under the law.

The battle was far from over though. With the verdict being announced, more than 300 citizens of Jim Thorpe packed their town hall to have an open discussion on what they were going to do. They decided to appeal, and the case was brought to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third District.

On Oct. 23, 2014, Caputo’s ruling was reversed. In Pennsylvania, there was a great amount of joy, mixed with relief.

“Thorpe’s remains are located in their final resting place and have not been disturbed,” the appeals court said in its ruling. “We find that applying (the repatriation law) to Thorpe’s burial in the borough is such a clearly absurd result and so contrary to Congress’s intent to protect Native American burial sites that the borough cannot be held to the requirements imposed on a museum under these circumstances.”

That relief would have to be placed on hold, as John’s uncle ordered a rehearing, and once that failed, appealed to the Supreme Court.

The court would, nearly a year later on Oct. 5, 2015, decline to hear the case without comment. Yet, William and Richard are determined to continue their fight to have Thorpe’s remains removed and reinterred in Oklahoma.

John is also dedicated to keeping the wishes of his mother and aunts honored, and allowing Thorpe to rest in peace.

At rest

One of the main things with this battle, for John, is knowing that his grandfather is at peace, something he hopes his uncles will see.

“I feel bad for my uncles, because if they feel that their father is not at peace, my heart goes out to them,” John said. “They shouldn’t feel that their dad is not at peace, because I know that he is.”

With Thorpe having had a tragic life, and with battles ensuing around him after his death, many find it time for him to have the rest that he deserves.

And while it may not necessarily matter where the physical body rests, letting Thorpe stay at rest, and at peace, while also honoring him, has remained of importance.

“It doesn’t matter where the body is laid,” LaPointe said. “The body used to be placed on a scaffold and wrapped in buffalo cloth, and then squeezed until they are pulverized. The body goes back into mother earth and replenishes it. So it doesn’t matter where the body is buried.”