Process Paper
When I started my topic search, I established a simple criterion: it had to be a local story and it needed to have a strong connection to a contemporary issue. Considering where I live—a desert city of seventy-five thousand—the search wouldn’t be simple. There was the Hanford project of course, but while it’s a monumental piece of history, I wasn’t interested in the topic. I wanted to research something complex and challenging, something that encouraged me to think differently. It was through my History advisor that I finally found my topic. He directed my path towards the Kennewick Man Case—a long lawsuit with a longer controversy behind it. Although the topic is recent and sparsely studied, I accepted the challenge with stride.
My favorite part of this project was conducting interviews. My research essentially began with a visit to the Eastern Benton County Historical Society. I chatted with the museum curator, Stephanie Button, and spent hours scanning the books she’d recommended, flipping through their Kennewick Man archives, and enjoying their displays. I conducted an interview with Cleone Hawkinson, the director of the Friends of America’s Past, a foundation that supports the scientists’ claim. I also had the chance to sit down with Josiah Pinkham, …show more content…
The eight scientists took a stand for the pursuit of knowledge and claimed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to repatriate the remains was wrong because they believed that they were not Native American. The coalition of tribes claimed the Kennewick Man as their ancestor and fought for their burial rights, which should have been protected under the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act of 1990 (“NAGPRA”). The outcome of this lawsuit set a precedent of how future NAGPRA cases and highlighted the ongoing battle for American Indigenous rights, but crucial information about America’s past was
When I started my topic search, I established a simple criterion: it had to be a local story and it needed to have a strong connection to a contemporary issue. Considering where I live—a desert city of seventy-five thousand—the search wouldn’t be simple. There was the Hanford project of course, but while it’s a monumental piece of history, I wasn’t interested in the topic. I wanted to research something complex and challenging, something that encouraged me to think differently. It was through my History advisor that I finally found my topic. He directed my path towards the Kennewick Man Case—a long lawsuit with a longer controversy behind it. Although the topic is recent and sparsely studied, I accepted the challenge with stride.
My favorite part of this project was conducting interviews. My research essentially began with a visit to the Eastern Benton County Historical Society. I chatted with the museum curator, Stephanie Button, and spent hours scanning the books she’d recommended, flipping through their Kennewick Man archives, and enjoying their displays. I conducted an interview with Cleone Hawkinson, the director of the Friends of America’s Past, a foundation that supports the scientists’ claim. I also had the chance to sit down with Josiah Pinkham, …show more content…
The eight scientists took a stand for the pursuit of knowledge and claimed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to repatriate the remains was wrong because they believed that they were not Native American. The coalition of tribes claimed the Kennewick Man as their ancestor and fought for their burial rights, which should have been protected under the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act of 1990 (“NAGPRA”). The outcome of this lawsuit set a precedent of how future NAGPRA cases and highlighted the ongoing battle for American Indigenous rights, but crucial information about America’s past was