Posted on 04/06/2005 11:02:33 AM PDT by blam
Tuesday, April 5, 2005 - Page updated at 01:17 p.m
Kate Riley / Times staff columnist
Another bone of contention over Kennewick Man
Kennewick Man is poised to tell his secrets.
Almost nine years after the 9,300-year-old remains were found on the banks of the Columbia River and a fierce legal battle, federal courts agreed unequivocally scientists should be able to study Kennewick Man.
However, U.S. Sen. John McCain has colluded with those who want to stifle the stories of similar old bones and the light they can shed on the earliest Americans and where they came from. The Arizona Republican, who is chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, supported a sweeping policy change in Senate Bill 536, which is billed erroneously as a technical corrections bill.
At the risk of invoking our former president's imbroglio, the issue really does boil down to what the definition of "is" is.
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act currently defines "Native American" as "of, or relating to, a tribe, people, or culture that is indigenous to the United States."
That wording was key to the scientists' victory in federal court, because it required proof of connection to modern tribes. But tribes who sought to bury Kennewick Man could not prove a link. In fact, limited studies found the remains more closely resembled the Ainu of Japan than modern, Native American tribes.In response to the federal court ruling, the Indian Affairs Committee approved SB 536, which would insert two seemingly innocuous words into the repatriation law. It would read: "... is, or was, indigenous. ... " That means modern tribes could claim remains with no discernible link to them except that they were found in an area where the tribes lived.
Proving a connection over more than 400 generations is problematic. How can we know the extent of early migration 10,000 years ago?
If a possible connection between Kennewick Man and the Ainu is substantiated, would the tribes really want to deprive the Ainu of news of their long-lost wandering relative?
"The effect is to push science and scientists out of the picture," says Alan Schneider, a lawyer for the scientists in their federal court battle. "The issue would be solely between the government and the tribes."
A member of the committee, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., raised concerns about such a substantive policy change being tucked into a technical corrections bill. But she voted for it because of other items in the bill. Another Northwest senator, Republican Gordon Smith of Oregon, also serves on the committee.
The Society for American Archeology, while generally supportive of the change, objected to a similar effort last year because there was no hearing: The society said, " ... we are strongly opposed to the process through which this amendment is being put forward."
The battle over Kennewick Man and other ancient remains, found and yet to be found, is a battle between sincere intentions.
Many tribes believe Kennewick Man and other ancient remains are ancestors. It disturbs them because the remains are not buried in accordance with their beliefs.
The repatriation act is a righteous law that sought to put an end to desecration of Native American burial sites and to return ancestral remains and artifacts to descendants.
But the scientists are not grave robbers with ill intent. Their values are to preserve the bones and study them in the least intrusive way possible. Among them is Doug Owsley, curator and division head for physical anthropology at the Smithsonian's National Museum, who has studied more recent remains to facilitate repatriation.
The repatriation law does not adequately address remains like Kennewick Man and others exceptional in their age and physically distinct from modern-day tribes that would claim them. U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, D-Pasco, previously introduced legislation to amend the repatriation act to ensure these ancient remains not linked to modern tribes could be studied.
He set the effort aside, pending the federal court case. But given this threat to scientific inquiry in the Senate, he should consider reintroducing it — and push this debate back into the open before the secrets of the earliest Americans are stifled.
Kate Riley's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her e-mail address is kriley@seattletimes.com
Oldest skeleton ever found in the Americas on a California island..
This is worse than the law passed in Tennessee in the 1920s that made it a felony to teach evolution (which led to the famous Scopes monkey trial)...at least that law didn't prevent scientists from pursuing their research into the origins of humans or other species. This law would allow the evidence to be suppressed or destroyed so that the truth could never be learned. The only hope for learning more about the prehistory of the Americas would come from remains found outside the U.S.
I can understand McCain's support of the VietNam commies - a tie exists via a large scale commercial land sales monopoly. But what has been paid to McCain to get him to subvert science for Indian activists?
Or is this just McCain being McCain?
Does anyone have any ideas, sources, etc.?
Wow Charles!
You're the first to ever post that observation here on FR.
Looks like Captain Picard! LOL!
No, that's Patrick Stewart.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
Toss some flint arrowheads into Jimmy Hoffa's grave and you are safe from investigation by the FBI..
The whole controversy is ridiculous..
We're not talking about general consensus among the tribes, we're talking about special interest groups with political aims..
Someone's been feeding you a story. C-14 dating gets a bit iffy about 50000 years down the line, but 6000? That's just over one half-life, can not only get a good reading, but it's within the tree-ring correction calibration area.
The tree-ring chronology is now over 10,000 years long.
"Archaeologist and palaeoecologist with research interests in dendrochronological and chronological issues. Teaches chronological and environmental issues in palaeoecology plus human evolution. Research record in tree-ring chronology construction for radiocarbon calibration and reconstruction of past environmental change."
You are confusing the half life of carbon 14 with the effective dating range. While the half life is about 5700 years, the ability to measure trace amounts allows dating to extend to the range of 50,000 years with the C-14 process.
a thread about an earlier attempt:
Measure could block Kennewick Man study
Seattle Post Intelligencer via AP | October 1, 2004 | Matthew Daly
Posted on 10/01/2004 7:12:56 PM PDT by Bernard Marx
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1233189/posts
Kennewick Man Scientists Protest BillScientists hoping to study the ancient skeleton known as Kennewick Man are protesting legislation they say could block their efforts. They say a two-word amendment to a bill on American Indians would allow federally recognized tribes to claim ancient remains even if they cannot prove a link to a current tribe... The scientists successfully opposed a similar bill in the last Congress sponsored by then-Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Campbell retired in January, but the bill has been revived in this Congress by the panel's new chairman, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz... Four Northwest tribes — the Umatilla, Yakama, Nez Perce and Colville — had claimed they were entitled to the ancient bones under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The tribes wanted the bones reburied without any scientific studies.
by Matthew Daly
Associated Press Writer
Fri, Apr 08, 2005
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As ElkGroveDan said, the half-life of C14 makes the dating possible, and with the enhancements to sensitivity of the instrumentation used, the upper limit for dating is now about 60,000 years. Further enhancements may push that limit a bit more.
Waco Meets Kennewick Man
Posted by Carol A. Valentine
On News/Activism 09/25/1999 18:34:15 PDT · 14 replies · 14+ views
Public Action, Inc. | September 26, 1999 | Carol A. Valentine
Waco Meets Kennewick Man In 1996, a 9,300 year-old skeleton was found on the banks of the Columbia River, near Kennewick, Washington. Called the Kennewick Man, this ancient gentleman is thought to have been a Caucasian....
Feds: 'Kennewick Man' Belongs to Five Indian Tribes
Posted by kennewickman
On News/Activism 09/25/2000 18:35:49 PDT · 14 replies · 1+ views
Seattle Post -Intelligencer | September 25, 2000 | Aviva L. Brandt
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The U.S. Interior Department has decided that "Kennewick Man," one of the oldest skeletons ever found in North America, should be given to five American Indian tribes who have claimed him as an ancestor. The decision comes after four years of arguing over whether the 9,000-year-old bones should be turned over to the tribes in the Pacific Northwest or to scientists for research. The skull of Kennewick Man was found in the shallows of the Columbia River in 1996 by a pair of college students. Researchers subsequently found nearly a complete skeleton -- 380 bones and fragments estimated to be between 9,320 and 9,510 years old. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said two years of study by his department have persuaded him that the bones should be returned to the five American Indian tribes...
STAR TREK Break: Could it be? Jean-Luc Kennewick?
Posted by Registered
On News/Activism 10/15/2001 3:01:10 PM PDT · 26 replies · 26+ views
Registered | 1 10.15.01
[the website doesn't exist, and the WebArchive doesn't have old enough cached versions, but I'm working on it]
Tribes Fail To Halt Study Of Ancient Skeleton (Kennewick Man)
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 01/09/2003 8:58:39 PM PST · 13 replies · 91+ views
Oregonian | 1-9-2003 | Richard L. Hill
Tribes fail to halt study of ancient skeleton 01/09/03 RICHARD L. HILL Four Northwest tribes lost another round in federal court Wednesday in their effort to halt a scientific study of the ancient skeleton called Kennewick Man.U.S. Magistrate John Jelderks in Portland rejected the tribes' request to delay the study until the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals can hear the legal dispute. In August, Jelderks ruled that eight anthropologists who sued the federal government could proceed to study the 9,300-year-old remains. The Nez Perce, Umatilla, Colville and Yakama tribes appealed his decision and later asked Jelderks to delay the...
9th Circuit Court of Appeals to have final say on disposition of Kennewick Man.
Posted by vannrox
On News/Activism 01/11/2003 2:18:04 PM PST · 10 replies · 54+ views
Oregon Live | 01/09/03 | RICHARD L. HILL
Tribes fail to halt study of ancient skeleton 01/09/03RICHARD L. HILL Four Northwest tribes lost another round in federal court Wednesday in their effort to halt a scientific study of the ancient skeleton called Kennewick Man. U.S. Magistrate John Jelderks in Portland rejected the tribes' request to delay the study until the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals can hear the legal dispute. In August, Jelderks ruled that eight anthropologists who sued the federal government could proceed to study the 9,300-year-old remains. The Nez Perce, Umatilla, Colville and Yakama tribes appealed his decision and later asked Jelderks to delay...
AMBER ALERT-KENNEWICK/RICHLAND WASHINGTON
Posted by HairOfTheDog
On News/Activism 02/05/2003 5:41:11 PM PST · 128 replies · 115+ views
KomoTV (ABC) | 2/5/03
RICHLAND - Benton County and Kennewick police have issued an Amber alert for a missing 5-year-old girl. Police say she may have been abducted about 8 p.m. Tuesday from her home in Kennewick. Police chief Marc Harden of Kennewick says the girl was playing in a bedroom, came out and asked her mother if she could go to the store with her grandmother's boyfriend. The boyfriend returned and the mother asked where the daughter was. The chief says the boyfriend said the little girl was not with him. Maynard says investigators have ruled out a custody dispute. They have...
Court Blocks Study Of Ancient Bones Pending Appeal (Kennewick Man)
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 02/23/2003 5:14:18 PM PST · 30 replies · 100+ views
SF Gate | 2020-2003
<p>Eight anthropologists who want to study an ancient skeleton must want until a federal court has heard an appeal of the case by four Northwest tribes that consider the bones sacred.</p> <p>The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision, made last week, prevents any study of the 9,300-year-old skeleton known as Kennewick Man, which scientists have sought to examine since 1996.</p>
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocks study of Kennewick Man bones! (they just won't let it go!)
Posted by vannrox
On News/Activism 02/24/2003 5:56:23 AM PST · 68 replies · 128+ views
AP via SF Gate | Thursday, February 20, 2003 | AP Editorial Staff
<p>Eight anthropologists who want to study an ancient skeleton must want until a federal court has heard an appeal of the case by four Northwest tribes that consider the bones sacred.</p> <p>The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision, made last week, prevents any study of the 9,300-year-old skeleton known as Kennewick Man, which scientists have sought to examine since 1996.</p>
Court battle resumes .. over ancient remains (Kennewick Man)
Posted by vannrox
On News/Activism 09/12/2003 1:51:35 PM PDT · 18 replies · 142+ views
Tribnet.com, The News Tribune's online newspaper | (Published 12:01AM, September 11th, 2003) | WILLIAM MCCALL; The Associated Press
Court battle resumes between tribes, scientists over ancient remainsWILLIAM MCCALL; The Associated Press PORTLAND - The definition of "Native American" is at stake in deciding whether the 9,300-year-old skeleton known as Kennewick Man belongs to scientists or Indian tribes, lawyers for both sides told a federal appeals court Wednesday. The Interior Department has fought with scientists since the bones were discovered in 1996 along the banks of the Columbia River near Kennewick. A group of eight anthropologists who want to do research on the skeleton went to court to seek permission. But then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt ruled three years ago...
The 'Stick Man' Cometh (Kennewick Man's Cousin?)
Posted by blam
On General/Chat 11/23/2003 11:56:48 AM PST · 10 replies · 122+ views
Seattle Weekly | 4-6-2000 | Roger Downey
Published April 6 - 12, 2000The Stick Man comethKennewick Man's flack is poised to unveil his latest "discovery." BY ROGER DOWNEY James Chatters THE BONES AND STONES trade is abuzz with rumors about this weekend's Northwest Anthropological Conference in Spokane. Star attraction on the three-day bill is none other than Dr. James C. Chatters, whose deft manipulation of the media back in the summer of 1996 made international tabloid stars of himself and of "Kennewick Man," the 9,000-year-old skeleton that fell into Chatters' capable hands during a boat race on the Columbia River. Chatters has hinted to insiders that in...
Kennewick man renains not protected
Posted by djf
On General/Chat 02/04/2004 12:12:38 PM PST · 49 replies · 185+ views
KING5
The courts have rules that the remains of Kennewick man, a 9,000 year old apparent caucasian skeleton found on the north shores of the Columbia river in Washington state, are not protected by the Native Americans act and must be turned over for scientific examination.
Appeals court says scientists can study Kennewick Man
Posted by concentric circles
On News/Activism 02/04/2004 8:09:28 PM PST · 16 replies · 51+ views
The Seattle Times | February 04, 2004 | Joseph B. Frazier
Scientists can study the 9,300-year-old remains of the Kennewick Man, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today. The court upheld a decision last August by U.S. Magistrate Judge John Jelderks in Portland that the remains, which Northwest Indian tribes consider sacred, can be studied. The tribes wanted the bones, found on the north bank of the Columbia River in 1996 by teenagers going to a boat race, turned over to them for burial. The three-judge panel found that the remains do not fall under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and can be studied under the...
Science Trumps Ritual in Mystery Skeleton Row [Kennewick Man]
Posted by syriacus
On News/Activism 02/05/2004 5:52:19 AM PST · 48 replies · 65+ views
Reuters--UK | Thu 5 February, 2004 | Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Denying a request by American Indian tribes who sought an immediate burial, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday that scientists should be allowed to continue testing on a 9,000-year-old skeleton. "It's terrific," said Robson Bonnichsen director of Texas A&M University's Center for the Study of the First Americans and a plaintiff in the case. "The court has upheld the principle for scientific study of very early human remains." The legal battle pitting Bonnichsen and seven other scientists against the U.S. government and Indian tribes dates back to 1996, after two teenagers discovered a skeleton near...
Kennewick Man Speaks
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 02/07/2004 12:10:42 PM PST · 103 replies · 376+ views
Seattle Times | 2-7-2004
Kennewick Man speaks Kennewick Man has held onto his secrets for more than 9,000 years and now, finally, scientists will get a chance to be his voice. This week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals pushed the truths resting within the bones at the Burke Museum closer to the light with its decision that scientists can study them. The appeals court affirmed a lower-court decision that the Interior Department erred in its decision to give the bones to the Native American tribes that claim them as those of an ancestor. The government might appeal to the Supreme Court. But the...
Kennewick Man Ruling - Politics Or Science
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 02/14/2004 10:12:50 AM PST · 36 replies · 116+ views
New Scientist | Jeff Hecht
Kennewick man ruling - politics or science? 10:30 14 February 04 Native Americans called him "The Ancient One", while anthropologists speculated he could reveal who first settled the Americas. Then, for over seven years, the skeleton of Kennewick Man became the subject of a court battle between the two parties, crystallising the debate over who should lay claim to ancient human remains and artefacts. Last week, a federal appeals court finally granted scientists the right to study the 9200-year-old bones, against the wishes of a group of native American tribes, including the Nez Perce tribe of Idaho and those of...
Invasion of the Kennewick Men
Posted by farmfriend
On News/Activism 02/23/2004 11:16:05 PM PST · 41 replies · 100+ views
Tech Central Station | 02/24/2004 | Jackson Kuhl
Invasion of the Kennewick Men By Jackson Kuhl After almost eight years of labyrinthine litigation the case of Kennewick Man has ended with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and archaeological science is the winner -- for now. In a February 4 decision, the Ninth upheld the district court ruling stating that since no relationship could be established between modern American Indians and Kennewick Man -- physically, contextually, or otherwise -- he is not a Native American as defined under NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, thus NAGPRA isn't applicable. The Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) therefore...
Scientists Win New Battle Over Skeleton (Kennewick Man)
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 04/20/2004 12:08:23 PM PDT · 27 replies · 64+ views
AP/Yahoo | 4-20-2004 | AP
Scientists Win New Battle Over Skeleton Tue Apr 20, 7:34 AM ET PORTLAND, Ore. - Anthropologists seeking to study the ancient Kennewick Man skeleton scored another victory when the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request by four Northwest tribes for a rehearing in the lengthy dispute. Tribal lawyers sought to have the case reheard by the full court after a three-judge panel ruled in February that the tribes had no right to the 9,300-year-old remains under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. A brief order issued Monday by the court denied the request from the...
Tribes quit long fight over Kennewick Man's remains
Posted by Willie Green
On News/Activism 07/16/2004 3:40:56 PM PDT · 90 replies · 2,444+ views
The Oregonian | Friday, July 16, 2004 | RICHARD L. HILL
The case appears to be over and the stage set for scientific study, barring a federal appeal to the Supreme Court The convoluted legal fight for Kennewick Man's bones -- the remains found along the Columbia River almost eight years ago that make up one of the oldest, most complete skeletons found in North America -- is likely over. Four Northwest tribes seeking to bury the 9,300-year-old bones indicate they will not take their fight to the U.S. Supreme Court after losing in lower federal courts to scientists who want to study the remains. The bones now await a formal...
New Wrangle Over Kennewick (Man) Bones
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 07/21/2004 6:59:22 AM PDT · 30 replies · 750+ views
BBC | 7-21-2004 | Paul Rincon
New wrangle over Kennewick bones By Paul Rincon BBC News Online science staff The remains could reveal secrets of the settlement of the Americas The legal battle over the ancient bones of Kennewick Man has been won by the scientists, but they now face a new wrangle over access to the remains. The 9,300-year-old skeleton is among the most complete specimens of its period known from the Americas. Four Native American tribes that sought to re-bury the bones have announced they will not be taking their fight to the US Supreme Court. But they still regard the skeleton as an...
Scientists Wait To Examine Kennewick Man (Update)
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 08/10/2004 10:56:41 AM PDT · 21 replies · 633+ views
IOL | 8-8-2004 | Tomas Alex Tizon
Scientists wait to examine Kennewick Man August 08 2004 at 04:58PM By Tomas Alex Tizon For a few days last week, the top forensic anthropologists in the United States thought they were finally going to get their chance to study Kennewick Man. The eight-year legal battle over the 9 300-year-old bones, one of the oldest skeletons found in North America, appeared finished after five northwest Indian tribes decided not to pursue their case to the US supreme court. The tribes claimed that Kennewick Man was an ancestor and should not be desecrated by scientific study. Two courts ruled in favour...
Measure could block Kennewick Man study
Posted by Bernard Marx
On News/Activism 10/01/2004 7:12:56 PM PDT · 69 replies · 681+ views
Seattle Post Intelligencer via AP | October 1, 2004 | Matthew Daly
WASHINGTON -- Scientists hoping to study the ancient skeleton known as Kennewick Man are protesting a bill by Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell that they say could block their efforts. A two-word amendment would change an Indian graves-protection law to allow federally recognized tribes to claim ancient remains even if they cannot prove a link to a current tribe. Scientists say the bill, if enacted, could have the effect of overturning a federal appeals court ruling that allowed them to study the 9,300-year- old bones.
Tribes Appeal Kennewick Man Ruling, Seek Role In Future Finds
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 02/16/2005 10:58:59 AM PST · 21 replies · 422+ views
Seattlepi.com | 2-16-2005 | AP
Wednesday, February 16, 2005 Last updated 8:04 a.m. PT Tribes appeal Kennewick Man ruling, seek role in future finds THE ASSOCIATED PRESS KENNEWICK, Wash. -- Indian tribes that failed to block the scientific examination of the 9,400-year-old remains known as Kennewick Man are appealing a court ruling in hopes of gaining a role in future discoveries. The appeal of a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was brought Monday by the Nez Perce Tribe, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Yakama Indian Nation, which claim Kennewick Man as an aboriginal ancestor. "It's a fundamental...
Another Bone Of Contention Over Kennewick Man (John McCain)
Posted by blam
On News/Activism 04/06/2005 11:02:33 AM PDT · 35 replies · 714+ views
Seattle Times | 3-5-2005 | Kate Riley
Tuesday, April 5, 2005 - Page updated at 01:17 p.m Kate Riley / Times staff columnist Another bone of contention over Kennewick Man Kennewick Man is poised to tell his secrets. Almost nine years after the 9,300-year-old remains were found on the banks of the Columbia River and a fierce legal battle, federal courts agreed unequivocally scientists should be able to study Kennewick Man. However, U.S. Sen. John McCain has colluded with those who want to stifle the stories of similar old bones and the light they can shed on the earliest Americans and where they came from. The Arizona...
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