Anthropologists and Native Americans were the major participants in the controversial debate and court case over the ownership of the Kennewick Man, sometimes called the “Ancient One.” The US Army Corps of Engineers, who superintended the land where the Kennewick Man was found, also participated, siding with the natives to fight for the reburial of the Ancient One
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, otherwise known as NAGPRA, is a federal law that protects items in relation to Native American culture. According to NAGPRA, cultural items such as sacred objects or human remains in affiliation to Native American tribes, eventually have to return to the ownership of the natives for cultural purposes like proper burials. The law was created so that culturally significant artifacts or human remains could be properly identified, processed, and analyzed by scientists, like anthropologists without disrespecting the cultural values of Indian and Native Hawaiian organizations. This law is strictly enforced and has evidently helped Native American representatives in debating for the rights for the Kennewick Man. The American Indian tribes are still abundant enough and significant enough in the governments point of view to be protected by this law and to observe their cultural values. It was …show more content…
From the perceptive of the scientists, the Kennewick Man was a priceless specimen that would help explain the immense anthropological questions risen after the discovery that he is almost 9,000 years old. The scientists were concerned with many questions, a few being how he got there, what his relation was to other prehistoric skeletons found in North America, and the possible relationship to Native
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, otherwise known as NAGPRA, is a federal law that protects items in relation to Native American culture. According to NAGPRA, cultural items such as sacred objects or human remains in affiliation to Native American tribes, eventually have to return to the ownership of the natives for cultural purposes like proper burials. The law was created so that culturally significant artifacts or human remains could be properly identified, processed, and analyzed by scientists, like anthropologists without disrespecting the cultural values of Indian and Native Hawaiian organizations. This law is strictly enforced and has evidently helped Native American representatives in debating for the rights for the Kennewick Man. The American Indian tribes are still abundant enough and significant enough in the governments point of view to be protected by this law and to observe their cultural values. It was …show more content…
From the perceptive of the scientists, the Kennewick Man was a priceless specimen that would help explain the immense anthropological questions risen after the discovery that he is almost 9,000 years old. The scientists were concerned with many questions, a few being how he got there, what his relation was to other prehistoric skeletons found in North America, and the possible relationship to Native