Some of it has been identified and returned, though pieces remain in other hands.

Christopher Columbus’s remains are the subject of ongoing dispute between Spain, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba, with DNA testing in the early twenty-first century clarifying but not fully resolving the question of which location holds his primary remains.

Various historical figures have had their remains disturbed by grave robbers, phrenologists, scientists, and curiosity seekers over the centuries.

The phenomenon of treating famous people’s remains as objects of curiosity or study is not limited to any particular era or culture, though the power dynamics — who collects and who is collected — have been deeply shaped by colonial relationships.

What distinguishes the Geronimo case from many comparable controversies is the involvement of a living descendant community that has a specific cultural and legal claim to the remains, and the availability of DNA technology that could, in principle, resolve the factual question of identification.