The Kennewick Man and NAGPRA

1551 Words4 Pages

On July 26, 1996 two individuals were walking along the bank of the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington, did not expect to find one of the oldest complete skeletal remains in the world. While, Kennewick man has gained considerable notoriety, debates have grown over the application of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and whether the Native Americans or Archaeologists have the rights to the body. As soon as the body was found it was studied by anthropologist James Chatters and he discovered “that the skull had characteristics unlike those of modern Native Americans” (Native Americans and Archeologists). As a result, it did not qualify under the NAGPRA rules. However, conflict arose because the Department of Interior and many Native American tribes are contesting that evidence found by the archaeologists. But, while it goes against Native American beliefs to inspect the bodies of their ancestors, any evidence that was gathered during the trial, in regards to the origin of Kennewick man, was necessary in order to find out to whom he belongs. Now, the skeleton is currently being kept at the Burke Museum in Washington State, where it is not on display. I believe that is where he should stay until more information about him is found. Finally, in regards to the presentations, I will be taking about who cares about the Kennewick Man, Lise Anderson and Jen Gray will be tackling the topic of opinions, Matt Ruffcorn will do the basic information about the Kennewick Man, Austin Eibel will talk about the conflict affected and finally, Matt Hellinghouse will talk about the research from an archaeological perspective.
The body was found on the land of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and when they took po...

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... 18 Nov. 2013.
Minthorn, Armand. "Human Remains Should Be Reburied." Kennewick Man Perspectives on the Ancient One (n.d.): 42-43. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
Morell, Virginia. “Kennewick Man’s Trials Continue.” Science 280.5361 (1998): 190-192. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2013
Murphy, Kim. "Kennewick Man Was Just Passing Through, Anthropologist Says." The Columbian. The Columbian, 14 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2013
Riley, Kate. "Who Owns the Past?" The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company, 28 Aug. 2006. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
Stapp, Darby C. "An Anthropological Perspective on Magistrate Jelderks's Kennewick Man Decision." Kennewick Man Perspectives on the Ancient One (n.d.): 44-66. World Archaeological Congress. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
Thomas, David Hurst. Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity. New York, NY: Basic, 2000. Print

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