Geronimo Descendant Pursues Spirited Fight

Geronimo, the great Apache warrior, is not resting in peace.

In the sort of news conference that most likely could happen only in Washington, Geronimo's great-grandson, Harlyn Geronimo, announced a lawsuit against the U.S. government yesterday to recover his famous ancestor's remains -- a strange last spasm in the Indian wars, with roles assigned to President Obama, Buffalo Bill, Willa Cather, the family of George W. Bush, and former attorney general Ramsey Clark, now 81 and long a lawyer for the sort of esoteric causes that generate news conferences, however sparsely attended.

For this news conference, at the National Press Club, Geronimo projected a sort of authenticity by wearing a Vietnam Veterans ball cap, Apache medicine beads, Ray-Ban tinted glasses, a bullfighter's belt buckle and black boots. Clark, in a corduroy jacket and thin striped tie, might have found a more sympathetic client in Geronimo -- lately he has advocated on behalf of Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic, Lyndon LaRouche and the government of North Korea.

It was the 100th anniversary of Geronimo's death from pneumonia, at 79, while a prisoner of war at Fort Sill, Okla.

"If remains are not properly buried, the spirit is just wandering, wandering, until a proper burial has been performed," the 61-year-old great-grandson said, speaking slowly, emotionally. After two tours in Vietnam he became a sculptor and an actor. "The only way to bring this to a closure is to release the remains and his spirit, so that he can be taken back to his homeland."

Clark filed Geronimo's lawsuit in U.S. District Court to liberate Geronimo's remains from Fort Sill, Yale University "and wherever else they may be found" -- who knows?

"His bones are still there as a prisoner of war," Clark said in his mellow drawl, referring to Fort Sill. Then he caught himself: "His bones for the most part are still there. . . . In this lawsuit we're going to find out whether the bones are there or not. . . . It's important to his people and justice and the future and how we treat the planet and each other."

The planet? Clark is nothing if not a big-issue man.

Two television cameras and a handful of reporters took it all down.

Geronimo was one of the last to lead Indians into battle against the U.S. Army and white settlers. It was said that he had magical powers. He so constantly outfoxed the Army that it put 5,000 soldiers into the hunt for him and his last band of three dozen warriors.

His surrender in 1886 marked the beginning of an American legend. He appeared in Wild West shows. Teddy Roosevelt invited him to ride a horse in the 1905 inaugural parade. Paratroopers shouted his name as they leapt into the void. Indian activists found him an inspiration.

So good at eluding capture in life, how could he go missing in death?