The Long Journeys Home

The moving stories of two Indigenous men in the United States and the return of their remains to their homelands.

Henry ‘Opkaha‘ia (ca. 1792–1818), Native Hawaiian, and Itankusun Wanbli (ca. 1879–1900), Oglala Lakota, lived almost a century apart. Yet the cultural circumstances that led them to leave their homelands and eventually die in Connecticut have striking similarities. p kaha ia was orphaned during the turmoil caused in part by Kamehameha’s wars in Hawai’i and found passage on a ship to New England, where he was introduced and converted to Christianity, becoming the inspiration behind the first Christian missions to Hawai’i. Itankusun Wanbli, Christianized as Albert Afraid of Hawk, performed in Buffalo Bill’s “Wild West” to make a living after his traditional means of sustenance were impacted by American expansionism. Both young men died while on their “journeys” to find fulfillment and both were buried in Connecticut cemeteries.

In 1992 and 2008, descendant women had callings that their ancestors “wanted to come home” and began the repatriation process of their physical remains. Connecticut state archaeologist Nick Bellantoni oversaw the archaeological disinterment, forensic identifications, and return of their skeletal remains back to their Native communities and families. The Long Journeys Home chronicles these important stories as examples of the wide-reaching impact of American imperialism and colonialism on Indigenous Hawaiian and Lakota traditions and their cultural resurgences, in which the repatriation of these young men have played significant roles. Bellantoni’s excavations, his interaction with two Native families, and his participation in their repatriations have given him unique insights into the importance of heritage and family among contemporary Native communities and their common ground with archaeologists. His natural storytelling abilities allow him to share these meaningful stories with a larger general audience.

“Bellantoni recovers from obscurity the remarkable life journeys, dreams, and deaths of two Native men and the two worlds they lived in.” —Paul Grant-Costa, Yale Indian Papers Project

“Based on meticulous forensic research, Bellantoni’s tale of two indigenous youth from different cultures and time periods, and their struggles to survive cultural upheavals, clearly reveals the chaotic effects of American colonialism on Native peoples. The book is a major contribution to the field of Postcolonial Studies.” —Lucianne Lavin, author of Connecticut‘s Indigenous Peoples