• History and culture: Who owns the Ancient One? History and culture: Who owns the Ancient One? St. Louis Post-Dispatch — August 1, 2005 Science and culture collided at a Senate hearing last week over the fate of the so-called
• History and culture: Who owns the Ancient One?
History and culture: Who owns the Ancient One?
St. Louis Post-Dispatch — August 1, 2005
Science and culture collided at a Senate hearing last week over the fate of the so-called Kennewick man, one of the oldest and best-preserved sets of human remains found in North America.
Scientists say studying the 9,200-year-old remains might offer clues to the origins of the first Americans. American Indian tribes, who call Kennewick man the Ancient One, say the remains should be turned over to indigenous people who can show an ancestral connection under provisions of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Trouble is, Kennewick man probably is not linked to any of the five modern-day tribes from the Pacific Northwest that claim him. Many scientists believe the first inhabitants of what became known as the New World got here centuries ago by walking across an Ice Age land bridge that connected Siberia and Alaska. Others say skeletons like Kennewick man suggest there may have been several waves of migration from different parts of Asia and the Pacific.
What scientists learn from Kennewick may change our thinking about the origins of the first Americans. That’s why lawmakers should take time to think through the well-meaning proposal by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., which would make it easier for American Indians to prevail in disputes like the one involving Kennewick man.
Mr. McCain’s two-word amendment is a reaction to last year’s ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court said American Indian tribes must demonstrate a direct link to remains in order to claim control of them. Mr. McCain’s proposal would allow modern tribes to claim rights to bones from old tribes that have vanished. Mr. McCain’s proposal probably would only apply in the future, meaning it wouldn’t apply to Kennewick man.
The Bush administration has weighed in against Mr. McCain, saying remains should be available for scientific analysis in situations where remains are not related significantly to any existing tribe.
This isn’t an open-and-shut case. Tribal leaders use the term American Indian broadly, saying it refers to any ancient remains unearthed in this country. At hearing last week, Paul Bender, a law professor at Arizona State University, bolstered that argument by testifying that the act was intended to cover all indigenous people, not just those with established kinship to modern American Indian tribes.
Congress shouldn’t overlook this point or the one by Walter R. Echo-Hawk, a lawyer for the Native American Rights Fund. He called for strengthening the repatriation act out of fear that the appeals court ruling might be interpreted by scientists, museums and other agencies as a green light to make unilateral determinations about the classification, treatment and disposition of more than 100,000 human remains without any consultation with American Indian tribes.
The memories of many American Indians remain fresh with images of how, in the name of science, their human remains and sacred objects have been collected, displayed and disposed of in ways inconsistent with their traditions and religions. Lawmakers cannot unwrite that history, but they can strike a balance by requiring scientists to consult more closely with American Indian tribes as they move forward with this important research.
