Kennewick Man-Who are his people?

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He lay in a watery grave at the bottom of the Columbia River, near Kennewick, Washington until July 1996 when two men stumbled upon his skull. Later deliberate searches turned up a nearly complete male skeleton, scattered over a 300 square foot area near the bank of a dammed lake-like section of the river under the management of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Although no one can bring him back to life, he has received notoriety he could not have experienced during his lifetime aeons ago.

His remains, named Kennewick Man, have been the subject of anthropological, cultural and legal controversies almost since their discovery.

And for the first time in Canada, a panel display about Kennewick Man is being shown at the Secwepemc Museum in Kamloops.

Curator Ken Favrholdt said decisions made in the Kennewick Man case will have far-reaching implications.

Although there is much speculation about his life, very little apart from Kennewick Man's physical condition is known. He was about 5' 9" tall and had a robust muscular build. At the time of his death he was between 45 and 55 years old and had suffered a projectile point wound in his right hip, which may have made walking difficult.

Public interest, debate and controversy began when an independent archaeologist working on contract to the Kennewick coroner decided the bones were ancient but might not be Native American. He described them as "Caucasoid" and sent a bone fragment to a laboratory to be dated. The final date indicated an age of 8,400 years, making Kennewick Man one of the oldest, most complete skeletons found in North America. If it is true that these human remains are thousands of years old and are not Native American, then just who is Kennewick Man?

The Native American Graves Protection Act (NAGPRA) was passed in 1990 and in part provides legal protections for Native American remains equal to those of other American citizens and is one of the most significant cultural policy laws ever enacted in the US.

Despite intense lobbying against it by both museum and anthropological organizations, the law provides legal means for Native American human remains, burial goods and certain other cultural objects to be returned to tribal communities from museums and government agencies.

A key condition for returns is that tribes must prove they are related to human remains and objects. This proof may include oral traditions, as well as geographical, historical, archaeological and other information and is based on a "preponderance of the evidence" rather than scientific certainty.

A series of legal actions brought about an inter-agency agreement, assigning the Department of the Interior (DOI) to undertake the scientific evaluations necessary to determine whether the remains are Native American under the legal definition of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1960, and if so, whether the remains are culturally affiliated with any present-day Indian tribe or tribes that could be involved in the ultimate disposition of the bones.

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

"It's important for everyone to understand where Native people came from in terms of land claims in this province. Because of the court case, the remains, which are currently housed at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, cannot be moved."