Who owns America's history?.
On the morning of July 28, 1996, two men enjoying the annual hydroplane races held on the Columbian River in Washington State unearthed a skull and a nearly complete skeleton 10 feet off the rivers shore line. (1) The anthropologist, DR James Chatters who first studied the remains has dubbed the skeleton "Kennewick Man". The Native Americans refer to him as "The Ancient One". The remains are that of a man who lived between 9,200-9,600 years ago. (2) This amazing discovery is now at the center of a national controversy over the interpretation of the Native American Graves Protection and Reparation Act, also known as NAGRPA.
NAGPRA applies when human remains and funerary objects are recovered from federal or Indian land. It states that ownership or control of Native American human remains or objects shall be given to lineal descendents of the Native American or Indian tribe on whose land such objects or remains were discovered or Indian tribe which has the closest cultural affiliation and states a claim for such remains or objects to the study of the remains. (3) A coalition of five Native American tribes claim Kennewick Man as an ancestor and have requested that his bones be returned for proper burial under NAGRPA. (4) In response to this claim several prominent scientists have sued for the right to study the bones. They argue that the skeleton is too old to be affiliated to any one people and that "Repatriation will deprive scholars of any opportunity or right to study this treasure", "Study of the skeleton would be of a major benefit to the United States"(5).
Vice chairman Jerry Menick, of the tribal council of the Yakama Indian Nation responded by stating, "Let the anthropologists study their own bones". (6). This set in motion what has become a showdown between the quest for scientific knowledge and respect for the religious beliefs of the Mid-Columbia's Indians.
This skeleton was named Kennewick Man to antropologists and Ancient One to Native Americans. ... When Chatters examined Kennewick Man his initial response was, Caucasion male. ... He stated, "Kennewick Mans culture is unkown and apparently unknowable." ... Questions three, four and five are also big issues in the Kennewick Man case. ... The Department of the Interior conducted DNA testing on Kennewick Man in 2000. ...
Controversy is the name of the game when it comes to the nation wide known, Kennewick man case. ... Strong stealth-full arguments have been fought to who should get Kennewick man. ... Well, Kennewick mans stereotype made him come across as being of Native American decent. ... If Kennewick man is studied, no doubt we will learn more than if he was not. ... This is why I feel that studying Kennewick Man is so very evident. ...
The Kennewick Man: Who was he? ... There are many tribes that lay claim to that area the Kennewick man was found in. ... The Kennewick Man's cranium is the starting point as to where there has been. ... South Asian and Middle Eastern skulls also are similar with the Kennewick Man"s characteristics.aE With this confusion the Kennewick Man needs to be examined using DNA samples in order to pinpoint the type of man he really was. ... For the Kennewick Man this not the case. ...
Kennewick Man Who owns America's history? ... To fully understand the controversy over the Kennewick Man we must take a look at some historical and archaeological accounts. ... It is believed by many that the early cranial studies done on Kennewick Man gave rise to racial stereotyping while others refer to the references made by DR. ... The features of Kennewick Man are described as different from those of a "typical" Native American's facial structure. ... The objections the Native Americans have to the study of Kennewick ...
However, the discovery has echoes of the Kennewick Man find in Columbia Park in 1996 that sparked a national controversy about inadvertent discoveries of ancient skeletons. ... Depending on the age of the remains, there are several laws that might apply to how they are handled, including the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, both of which came into play after Kennewick Man was found. No cultural items were found with Kennewick Man, making it difficult to associate him with modern tribes. ...
However, the Kennewick Man a 9300 year old skeleton found along the Columbia River in Washington (White pg.6), changed NAGPRA forever. ... It is these people that have the right to fight for such remains as the Kennewick Man. ... In this case the Kennewick Man stands out, a skeleton which is hard to tell if any tribe is affiliated with, and also it's extreme age of 9300 years. ...
THE COMPLICATED PICTURE INTRODUCTION The abundance of theories on how and when the first people arrived in America creates a complicated picture that Paleo-anthropologists are still trying to clarify. Different hypothesis place the first American colonizers here between 12,000 and 3...
