The story of Geronimo’s missing skull is not a story that exists only in the past.

It is a story that is being lived by specific communities, specific families, and specific individuals who are connected to the historical figures at its center.

Harlyn Geronimo is alive.

He has spoken publicly about the mystery, the lawsuit, and the need for DNA testing.

His family connection to the historical figure gives him a specific perspective and a specific stake in the resolution of the question.

The members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, and other Apache communities are living people with their own relationships to the history and their own views on the appropriate handling of the remains question.