The Future of Kennewick Man's Past Still Locked in Legal Turmoil
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The Future of Kennewick of the tribes' beliefs is that remains should proceedings. The Associated Press Man's Past Still Locked in not be disturbed, and if they are disturbed reported to the Tri-City Herald that U.S. Legal Turmoil they should be set at peace as soon as Magistrate Judge John Jelderks barred the Sandy Grant possible. That is still what the tribes are tribes from further participation in th~ trying to do" (published August 5th, Kennewick Man lawsuit by ordering the The long fight for rightful ownership of 2004). The tribes are worried that during case limited to government defendants one of the most complete skeletons ever the study, the burial site will be disturbed and the scientists who want to study the found in North America, did appear as further than it has already has and the ancient skeleton (published August 19, though it was coming to an end. After an tests performed on the remains will be 2004). Now it is up to the scientists and eight year legal battle between eight US damaging. the federal government to agree on the anthropologists, and four Northwest Even with assurance that damage best cause of action for the study. Until Native tribes, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court resulting from the study will be they do, and the study actually begins, it of Appeals has ruled in favour of the insignificant and minute, they still feel looks as though the tribes will continue scientists: they will be allowed to study studying the remains will diminish the to throw up stumbling blocks in the · the remains. The 380 piece assortment cultural importance of them. Because of process. The tribes say they have cultural of bones and bone fragments, were found this, the tribes are asking to be granted a interest in the ancient skeleton and, under on the banks of the Columbia River in leading role in any decisions on how any other sections of the NAGPRA, have the Kennewick, Washington in 1996. Very studies are done. right to assist in the planning of the quickly after, the Nez Perce, Yamaka, The main aspect ofthe tribes' argument scientific study. They are requesting that Umatilla and Colville tribes filed claims is that they don't want destructive tests the court give them full party status, to the skeleton, believing they are the performed that would raze any skeletal which would put them on the same level remains on an ancestor. They feel that material, and want the remains to be of the playing field with the scientists and under the Native American Graves and reburied. The scientists do not want to the government for all current and future Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the remains cause any harm to the remains, but just cases. Alan Schneider, an attorney for the should be returned without potentially want to learn the secrets locked inside scientists, told the Tri-City Herald that it invasive scientific study, and reburied. them so that the Kennewick Man's story appears the tribes simply are using other These claims were met with opposition can be told. They say the amount of bone legal means to achieve their original from the scientists who feel the 9,300- material that they would need to remove objective, to prevent testing and gain year-old remains could provide valuable would only be meagerly small samples, possession of the remains (published information about the early peopling of and therefore the impact of the study September 10, 2004). Until this is sorted North America. As set out in NAGPRA, would be low. The greatest gap between out once and for all, the Kennewick Man the tribes must prove lineal descent or the tribes and scientists coming to terms, remains in storage at the University of cultural affiliation to the skeleton, dubbed is not caused by the decision ofwhat kind Washington's Burke Museum, and the "Kennewick Man," in order to lay legal of study to perform, but about what knowledge and history locked inside claim of ownership. Failing to sufficiently happens to the remains when the study is awaits to be brought to light. do so, the court ruling that came down in completed. The scientists want July was on the side of the scientists. Kennewick Man to stay in the museum Sources: However, before the much anticipated with hopes that in future there might be MSNBCNews: study could proceed, the tribes launched scientific advances and new methods of http://www.rnsnbc.rnsn.com/id/5456191/ a new argument. They feel that they study that would allow more information Kennewick Man Virtual Interpretive should still have a strong say in how any to be obtained and shared with everyone. Center: studies are carried out, and what happens Because the scientists are anxious to http://www.kennewick-man.com to the remains after the scientists are done. get on with the study and the court has National Park Service US Department of Rob Roy Smith, an attorney already ruled the tribes have no ancestral the Interior; National NAGPRA: representing the Confederated Tribes of connection to the remains, the scientists http://www.cr.nps .gov/nagger/ the Colville Indian Reservation, reported have petitioned the court to remove the Tri-City Herald: to the Tri-City Herald, "One of the tenets tribes from the remainder of the http://www.tri-cityherald.com/ The Midden v.36 #3/4 3 -- - -- --- -- The Lootin_g of Iraq number of questionable pieces from unforgettable. This was "a civilisation The side-effects of war Mesopotamia since the Persian GulfWar." tom to pieces," Robert Fisk reported for Bill Angelbeck Numerous artifacts from Iraq are even on The Independent of London, shortly eBay (Wilford 2003). thereafter. "Why? How could they do The Iraq war has not been good for the In 200 1, Science magazine reported that this? Why, when the city was already country's archaeological heritage. Iraqi researchers and foreign burning, when anarchy had been let Museums have been looted. archaeologists were prepared to assess the loose-and less than three months after Archaeological sites have been damaged damage since 1991 and "attempt to rebuild U.S. archaeologists and Pentagon by the war effort, both by assaults and by the shattered country's archaeological officials met to discuss the country's the setting up ofmilitary camps. Organized community and end a long period of treasures and put the Baghdad looters have devastated countless sites in isolation" (Lawler 200 1). Sadly, that effort Archaeological Museum on a military the uncontrolled regions of Iraq on an was short-lived. By 2003, teams of data-base-did the Americans allow the unprecedented scale. And, like the coalition researchers were preparing lists of mobs to destroy the priceless heritage occupation itself, there is no end in sight. archaeological sites for the U.S. ofancient Mesopotamia?" (Fisk 2003). The first Gulf War itself was not good government in the hopes of making the Since then, some items have· bf:en for the region's archaeology. For instance, military aware of the thousands of returned, but only a smattering. Dr. the ancient city of Ur was bombed, archaeological sites across the country. In Nawala al Mutawalli, the director of the inflicting significant damage. Russell (200 1) their discussions they emphasized that museum, noted that only seven of a list stressed that "Bombing .and strafing left "VIrtually all of Iraq is an archaeological of 47 major items have been returned, four large craters in the temple precinct and site" (Russell 200 1), that there are and still more than 13,000 items are · some 400 holes in the temple's great essentially "no natural hills in southern missing (MacLeod 2003 ). In the ziggurat, or stepped tower." However, Iraq" {Wtlford 2003), and that the museum countryside, however, looting also has damage from military operations has been of Baghdad some of the finest collections taken place: from the site ofNimrud, two slight compared to damage from looters. of Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian Assyrian reliefs had been taken, and the Since that war ended in 1991, looters took artifacts and monuments (Cotter 2003). palace of Sennacherib at Ninevah alsO advantage of the limited oversight in the Unfortunately, even one of the researchers, had been severely damaged (MacLeod country, neglected both by the McGuire Gibson, conceded at the time that 2003). government of Saddam Hussein and by "If Saddam Hussein puts a command Neela BaneJjee and Micah Garen (2004) the international community, represented center next to a ziggurat, it becomes a reported in the New York Times that sites primarily by foreign arms inspectors. legitimate target" (Lawler 2003). contained "a moonscape of craters," not Archaeologists, particularly American The rampant looting of the National from bombs, but from the holes left by archaeologists, were kept out the region Museum after Baghdad fell is all too looters. One man told them, "When you due to a ban on travel to the country. Subsequently, there were burglaries from the museums in Mosul and Kirkuk (Cotter 2003). In the New York Times, John Noble Wilford (2003) reported that "Assyrian sculptures in northern Iraq were sawed up so the pieces could be taken out of the country.... Unexcavated sites in the south were bulldozed by plunderers, who hauled IRAN away artifacts in dump trucks. One expert SYRIA said even a diplomat's car was stopped crossing the border from Iraq into Jordan with 80 illicit artifacts." In part, the sanc~ons imposed by the United Nations contributed to this situation, causing widespread poverty throughout Iraq. With few options in an economy under strangle-hold, many turned to. looting archaeological sites for some quick returns on the black market (McWhirter 2002).