Stewardship and Heritage

“Kennewick Man”, alternately known as “The Ancient One” by many Native American tribal members, is the title given to a set of human bones discovered by two spectators at a powerboat race on Sunday, July 28th, 1996, in the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, on land currently under the control of the US Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”). The bones were identified by James Chatters, the forensic anthropologist for the local Benton County Coroner. Chatters noted that the bones were not from a murder victim, had the worn teeth of a pre-contact Native American, and were of a color that suggested that they were not recent in age. The absence of scavenger tooth marks on the bones suggested that the body had been buried soon after death. Finally Chatters also noted that the skull shape appeared to be “Caucasoid” and not “Mongoloid” like modern Native Americans. Journalists translated this phrase into Caucasian - like modern Europeans - and gave this anatomical statement a potentially different slant to that originally intended by Chatters. 

Samples from the bones were quickly sent for radiocarbon dating to confirm Chatters’ original observation that they were not recent. As a result, the skeleton was dated to 8410 +/- 60 C14 years before present (bp) by laboratories at the University of California at Berkeley. This translates as approximately 9500 years bp in real years. At that time it was also noted that there was evidence of a prehistoric stone projectile point embedded in the pelvis that conformed to a shape known to have been made more than 5,000 years ago. 

In September 1996, as an “inadvertent discovery” under NAGPRA, the bones were taken into custody, pending a NAGPRA claim, by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the body mandated by the US government for dealing with these matters since they are the managers of the site where the bones were found. The Corps followed their NAGPRA obligations and notified local tribes with links to this area so as to allow Native Americans to make a claim for repatriation. The bones were duly claimed by five tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, the Colville, the Yakama, the Nez Perce and the Wanapum Band (a non-federally recognized tribe). NAGPRA judgments have usually assumed that any individual dated to prior to before 1492 AD (prior to the first recognized date of European contact in America) should be considered to be Native American and repatriated. In late September 1996, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced their intention to repatriate the skeletal remains. 

In October 1996, 8 scientists (Robson Bonnichsen, C. Loring Brace, George W. Gill, C. Vance Haynes Jr., Richard L. Jantz, Douglas Owsley, Dennis J. Stanford and D. Gentry Steele) filed a lawsuit to block the repatriation. Their lawsuit challenged the determination that the skeletal remains could be identified as Native American. Furthermore, they also argued that their civil rights had been infringed since they had not been allowed to scientifically study the remains because they were not Native American. In late 1996, the Asatru Folk Assembly, a California-based organization following an old Norse religion, also filed suit arguing that if the remains were Caucasian, they (the Asatru) might be culturally affiliated to the remains. 

In February 1997, U.S. Magistrate, Judge Jelderks, from the District Court refused to dismiss the lawsuits from the scientists and the Asatru, and on March 23rd, the US Army Corps of Engineers rescinded its decision to repatriate the skeletal remains. Jelderks raised a series of issues concerning the implementation of NAGPRA that he wished to be resolved prior to any decision concerning the fate of the skeletal remains. 

In June 1997, Francis McManamon, a consulting archaeologist for the National Park Service, responding to Jelderks, noted that NAGPRA did not require a proven biological connection between the skeletal remains and a Native American Tribe making a claim for repatriation. He also noted that NAGPRA did not preclude scientific study of skeletal remains in order to determine affiliation where a concern about the attribution of affiliation existed. He suggested that all and any further studies should be undertaken in consultation with appropriate Native Americans. 

In July 1999, the National Park Service presented a series of non-destructive studies on (i) the initial skeletal assessment of the Kennewick remains, (ii) the osteological assessment of the skeleton, (iii) an analysis of the sediments in which the remains had been found, and (iv) an analysis of the projectile point embedded in the skeleton. None of these studies adequately confirmed the affiliation of the skeleton. In September 1999, the National Park Service commissioned further radiocarbon dates of the skeleton, and in January 2000, the Service commissioned a further set of studies, including a DNA analysis (against the stated wishes of the Native Americans) to help clarify the matter of affiliation. 

In September 2000, following the second set of analyses by the National Parks Service, Bruce Babbitt, the Secretary of Interior, determined that the skeletal remains of Kennewick Man should be repatriated since they could be identified as Native American. In late 2000, an appeal against the decision by Babbitt, was filed by Bonnichsen et al. 

In late August 2002, Judge Jelderks, for the Appeal Court, presented his judgment in favor of the 8 scientists. He ruled that, amongst other things, the Kennewick Man skeleton had not been shown to be Native American and was therefore not subject to the provisions of NAGPRA. Rather it should be treated as an archaeological resource under the terms of the Archaeological Resource Protection Act, mandating full scientific study and curation in the pursuit of knowledge in the interests of all citizens if the U.S.A. 

In November 2002, an appeal was filed against the judgment by Jelderks by both the US Government Department of the Interior and the 5 Native Americans tribes. The judgement was upheld, and Jelderks ruled that a cultural link between any of the Native American tribes and Kennewick Man could not be proved because of the age of the remains. The ruling allowed scientific study of the remains to continue while the Corps retained custody of the remains. In July 2005, a team of scientists from around the United States convened in Seattle for 16 days to study the remains in detail. Their research results were published in 2014 in Kennewick Man: The Scientific Investigation of an Ancient American Skeleton edited by Douglas Owsley and Richard Jantz. 

In June 2015, scientists at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark determined through DNA from bones that Kennewick Man is, in fact, related to modern Native Americans, including the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation from the region in which his bones were found. Analysis showed that Kennewick Man is very closely related to the Colville tribe in northeast Washington. The results were published in Nature magazine. 

In September 2016, the US House and Senate passed legislation to return the ancient bones to a coalition of Columbia Basin tribes for reburial according to their traditions. The coalition includes the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, and the Wanapum Band of Indians. The remains were buried on February 18, 2017, at an undisclosed location in the area. 

The Explicit Case 

Kennewick Man is a unique find, whose age and skeletal form question any direct relationship to present-day Native Americans. The skeletal remains represent evidence of another (earlier?) migration of people into the Americas. Proper scientific investigation is necessary to reveal all the evidence that this skeleton can tell us. This investigation will require reconstruction for a full range of non-destructive skeletal measurements to be taken, as well as some destructive analyses such as DNA analysis. Kennewick Man is one of a very small number of skeletons that can reveal this information. Except through skeletal examination (of Kennewick Man and others, including Spirit Cave Man), it is highly unlikely that we shall ever be able to understand completely the complex process of colonization of the Americas. 

The proper study of these skeletal remains will provide scientific knowledge that is of benefit to all citizens of the United States, and therefore such studies should be legally permitted within the framework of NAGPRA. 

The Implicit Case 

We are doing scientific work that is more truthful than Native American oral histories. We must be allowed to pursue the research goals of our scientific community. If we must accept Native American oral histories does this mean that “scientific” anthropology is not the real way of understanding the past? NAGPRA legislation is not really meant to stop this type of scientific study because of NAGPRA allows for scientific studies that will be of “major benefit” to the United States. 

The Explicit Case 

According to NAGPRA legislation, Native Americans can claim skeletal remains for repatriation that to whom they are culturally affiliated. Since the Kennewick skeleton was found on lands to which the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla have documented historic ties, they have a legal right to claim these bones for repatriation. 

The oral histories of the Umatilla tell them that they have lived in the area for 10,000 years, and that Native Americans were the first peoples to have lived in North America. The Umatilla do not believe that the analysis of skull shape (especially of 1 individual) is a valid means of “racial” investigation, nor do many anthropologists. A larger sample is needed. Furthermore, the Umatilla believe that dead members of the tribe should be treated with respect. Deceased individuals must be buried as quickly as possible and remain buried. 

The Implicit Case 

If Kennewick Man is not reburied, then scientists will be encouraged to petition against the repatriation of other skeletons. These skeletons will be progressively more recent in date, and soon there will be a return to the situation in which the excavation and museum curation of Native American skeletal remains is once again commonplace. If Native Americans can be shown to be not the first colonists of the Americas, what does this do to their rights negotiated with the US Government? 

After the exercise above, ask the students to list/brainstorm about who “benefits” from NAGPRA. It might be good to write a list on a whiteboard or blackboard, and the conversation about perceived benefit should help open up various perspectives. The Instructor should be prepared to play “devil’s advocate” by asking leading questions as necessary. 

After the exercise above, ask the students to list/brainstorm about who is “harmed” by NAGPRA. Similar to the previous exercise, it might be good to write a list on a whiteboard or blackboard in order to help the conversation help open up various perspectives. The Instructor should be prepared to play “devil’s advocate” by asking leading questions as necessary.