Ancient One / Kennewick Man
Ancient One / Kennewick Man
Yesterday Magistrate Jelderks denied the joint tribal motion for a stay in the Ancient One (Kennewick Man) case. The stay would have kept the case at the status quo, preventing any further study of the remains until the 9th Circuit Court addressed the appeals by the claimant tribes and the United States.
We are disappointed with Magistrate Jelderks' ruling, however it was not unexpected. We believe the court has again made the wrong decision. The plaintiff scientists' study plan proposes, among other things, seven distinct studies that purport to examine, measure, or observe the skeleton. Tribal archaeologists and US Army Corps archaeologists have pointed out that these observations have already been done, some of them even by some of the plaintiffs themselves. Each additional time the remains are handled, the skeleton is at risk of cracking, breaking and disintegrating.
The Court has stated that the remains are governed by the Archaeological
Resources Protection Act. ARPA regulations require that the US
Government "protect and preserve the condition, research
potential, religious or sacred importance, and uniqueness of the"
archaeological resources. The United States, and the Court, have
an obligation to protect these remains from senseless destruction
by repetitive studies.
The plaintiff scientists are arguing that they should be allowed
to drill 40 holes into the remains with a power drill to look
for analyzable DNA. How could drilling holes into the remains
not be invasive or substantially alter the remains? Their proposed
study plan, if fully implemented, could consume the entire skeleton.
The court erred in holding that tribal objections to study are
based purely on "religious and spiritual grounds." This
is simply wrong. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act was made law to ensure that tribes have the same rights non-Indians
have to protect their ancestors. We object to scientific study
because the ancient one is our ancestor, and that the claimant
tribes, by law, have a right to determine who, if anyone, should
study his remains.
The fact that the Judge believes our concerns are strictly religious, and that any harm we would suffer from these studies would be limited, only further demonstrates that the Court does not understand the irreparable harm caused to the remains by the proposed tests and the tests that have already been done.
As a matter of process, the tribes were required to apply for
a stay in the case before the District Court. With that request
now denied, we can now move for a stay in the case to the Ninth
Circuit.
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