The following reprinted articles and references provide additional information on the government's research, latest findings, and further readings that provide varied perspectives on many of the issues raised in the exhibit, Kennewick Man on Trial.

THE GOVERNMENT'S DECISION

In April, 2000, bone samples were removed from the skeleton of Kennewick Man for DNA analysis. Due to the age and condition of the bone, however, no DNA was found. In the meantime, a series of special research reports from scholars on the archaeology, cultural history, linguistics, and anthropology of the area and its tribes were completed. Adding this scientific information to earlier research findings, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced on September 25, 2000, that the government had decided that Kennewick Man was culturally affiliated with five Northwest tribes and should be repatriated to the tribes. This ended more than two years of scientific study of these remains and their cultural origins. In his announcement, Secretary Babbitt said: "Although ambiguities in the data made this a close call, I was persuaded by the geographic data and oral histories of the five tribes ... I believe that it is reasonable to determine that the Kennewick Man remains should be transferred to the Tribes that have jointly claimed him- Tribes that have inhabited, hunted, and fished this area around the confluence of the Columbia and the Snake Rivers for millennia."

Federal law now requires that Kennewick Man's remains be transferred to the joint custody of the Colville Confederated Tribes, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, the Wanapum Band, and the Yakama Confederated Tribes, unless a pending lawsuit over the repatriation halts the transfer.

January 2000

KENNEWICK MAN IS NATIVE AMERICAN
"We believe that these are the bones of an ancient man who lived most of his life and died in the Pacific Northwest more than 9,000 years ago. His age shows that he was here more than 8,000 years before the arrival of European exploration of our hemisphere. The sediment adhering to his bones and the shape of the Cascade point in his hip provide additional evidence consistent with the radiocarbon dates. Kennewick Man is Native American." Dr. Francis P. McManamon

NEW LABORATORY TESTS
On January 13, 2000, the Department of the Interior announced its conclusion that the human remains known as Kennewick Man are Native American as defined under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). This conclusion is based on recent radiocarbon dating, analysis of the lithic point embedded in his left hip and other anthropological and soil sediment analysis performed in February, 1999. The radiocarbon dates were determined by independent tests at three different radiocarbon laboratories. In early September, 1999, two small bone samples were extracted from the metatarsal and tibia of the skeletal remains that are housed at the Burke Museum, in Seattle. Radiocarbon dating, particularly of ancient bones, is a complex process. (See the actual reports from the laboratories on the National Park Service's Kennewick Man Web Site). 

Based on the results of the studies completed to date, National Park Service Chief Archaeologist Francis P. McManamon sketched the following scenes from Kennewick Man's life:

"Somewhere not far from here more than 9,000 years ago, a young man, perhaps only a teenager, received a nearly fatal injury. A thin, sharpened stone point, made and used for hundreds of years here in the Pacific Northwest, struck the young man in the back of his hip. It was thrown with such force that it imbedded itself into the bone. Alone with his wound, he might have died, or been finished off by his attackers. But he lived, perhaps rescued and helped to recover by his family and friends. This young man was one tough hunter-gatherer! He lived long after recovering from his wound. His hipbone grew and molded completely around the stone point that remained embedded there.

From his bones, we believe that he lived a vigorous life; his stature was robust and remained strong right up to his death at about 45-55 years old. He wasn't affected by arthritis, and he didn't walk with a limp. When he died, his bones were covered almost immediately- before any scavenging animal could gnaw up or carry off any part. His body might have been covered naturally by flood-borne sediments or some other natural event, but it is also possible that he was buried by his family or friends in the abundant hunting and fishing land around the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

We believe that Kennewick Man was born, lived out his life, and died in this part of the country about 9,000 years ago. His ancestors almost certainly were Asian. These distant ancestors were part of the initial movement of people from northeastern Asia that gradually crossed the Bering Land Bridge or paddled along its shoreline when the land bridge was exposed, thousands of years before their descendent lived along the Columbia River. Other relatives of these same distant ancestors of Kennewick Man moved south into what is now Japan, coastal China, and onto the islands of the Pacific."

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Department of the Interior must now address the question of "cultural affiliation" and determine whether or not a shared group identity can be established between the ancient remains of Kennewick Man and any of the present-day Indian tribes that have historically inhabited the area. Currently, five tribes: the Umatilla, Colville, Wanapum, Nez Perce and Yakama, have claimed the remains as their ancestor.

At a January 13 press conference at the Burke Museum, officials from the Department of the Interior had not yet decided whether to pursue DNA testing. The difficulties in finding collagen in the bone that would provide good DNA and the difficulties of contamination with modern or other DNA in the laboratory or in the atmosphere were among the problems being considered. On January 31, the government announced its intention to proceed with the DNA tests. "We believe that DNA analysis will help determine the biological and genetic racial ancestry of the remains," McManamon stated. Despite the age of the bones, the consulting scientists will attempt to extract useful amounts of uncorrupted DNA from the bone collagen. McManamon noted that the tribes claiming the remains, most of which oppose any invasive testing, will be consulted about this next step in determining cultural affiliation.