Tribes Denounce Plan To Change Graves Law Scientific Study Of American Indian Remains Called Disrespectful

Calling the scientific study of American Indian remains disrespectful to their culture, Indian tribes Wednesday denounced a proposal to change a federal law governing the return of such remains.

“This bill, if enacted, will make a mockery of (the law) instead of returning items and ancestors of ours,’ Armand Minthorn, a member of the board of trustees of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, said at a House Resources Committee hearing.

“This bill has nothing to do with respecting my life, my culture, and my history.”

A proposal by Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., would clarify the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and prevent conflicts from arising over remains, he said.

“Kennewick Man is clearly an example of how the law did not work,” a Hastings spokeswoman said.

Two years ago, the 9,300-year-old remains of a male with “Caucasoid” features were found in the Columbia River in Kennewick. The dispute about who the remains belonged to erupted almost immediately.

The Army Corps of Engineers, administrators of the land where Kennewick Man was found, planned to turn the remains over to the Umatilla Indian Tribe under the provisions of graves act. But a group of eight scientists sued in federal court for the right to study the find.

The scientists claimed that insufficient evidence had been gathered to determine if the remains were even American Indian. The suit is still pending.

“If it were not for the suit, these remains would have been lost,’ Hastings said.

His proposal would clarify the steps federal agencies must take in clearly identifying the remains of the individual and the relationship of the remains to a tribe. The bill also eliminates claims of tribes to remains based on geographical affiliation. Instead, it relies solely on “sound science” to determine a cultural affiliation.

The scientists contend that studying the remains would help reveal important information about the Americas 10,000 years ago. Information about such areas as diet, diseases and climate could be determined, they said.

“The study of history, especially ancient peoples, benefits everyone,’ said Dr. James Chatters, an applied paleoscientist from Richland.

The tribes believe that nothing new would be learned by studying Kennewick Man, who they call The Ancient One.

“We already know our history, we know what happened 10,000 years ago,” Minthorn said. “It’s fact to me, I live it every day.”

The tribes support the corps’ decision to hand over the remains for a quick and proper burial so the spirit of the body can continue its journey into the afterlife. Opponents of the proposed resolution contend that the current law allows for sufficient study of remains, and that Hastings’ resolution unfairly favors scientists.

Katherine Stevenson, associate director for cultural resources, stewardship and partnership of the National Park Service, said mistakes had been made by the corps in handling the Kennewick case, but attributed those mistakes to human error.

The corps did not conduct sufficient study as to who the remains belonged to before they decided to turn them over to the Umatillas.

But she disputed the idea that human error could ever be prevented and that the law needed changing.

“The bill has allowed successful endings in hundreds of cases,” she said. “In other words, the act is working.”