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Judge Orders Kennewick Man Repatriated
He Belongs to Actor, Not Science or Tribes 
Distant Relatives: Federal judge orders Kennewick Man repatriated to star of stage and screen Patrick Stewart. (AP)
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By Marie Pearpointe
Tomorrow Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 04, 2001 PORTLAND, ORE. -- In a stunning defeat to both scientists and five tribes in the Pacific Northwest, a federal judge has ordered the heavily disputed remains of Kennewick Man be repatriated to his true and rightful descendant: award-winning English actor Patrick Stewart. "I find that DNA tests on the bones of Kennewick Man link him beyond a reasonable doubt to Mr. Stewart," said US District Judge Robert P. Barnum on June 29. "I therefore order the Department of Interior immediately release the bones to this wonderful man who has graced the stage and screen for so many years now." "This should once and for all end the dispute over these remains," he added. But the battle over the 9,000-year-old bones is far from over. The scientists who sued to prevent Kennewick Man's bones from being reburied by Indian tribes vowed an immediate appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, hoping to prevent the government from putting the bones on a plane bound for England next week. "No one, and we repeat, no one, has the right to these bones except us," said Smithsonian archaeologist A. Ryan Nation, the lead plaintiff. "Not even by people to whom he might be related." The five tribes who were declared culturally affiliated to Kennewick Man by former Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt last November weren't too pleased either. They are also appealing, in an attempt to protect the ancestor they refer to as the Ancient One. "Even if he is related to Patrick Stewart, he's also related to us," said Arnold "Green" Acres, cultural preservation officer for the Wapato Tribe of Oregon. "We are considering making Mr. Stewart a member of our tribe just to make it official." Contacted at his Yorkshire home, Stewart was extremely pleased by the ruling. He intervened in the case last month, after noting that a facial reconstruction of Kennewick Man looked remarkably like him. "When I first saw that mock-up, I immediately thought 'My god! I am handsome,'" proclaimed an excited Stewart. "Then I realized it was not a bust of me, but one of my distant ancestor, the Kennewick Man. I knew I had to have him returned to me in England at once." With DNA tests conclusively linking the two, Barnum had little choice but to repatriate the remains to Stewart. In his precedent setting decision, he said the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) applies to foreigners living in foreign countries. Interior officials said Secretary Gale Norton hasn't yet decided if she will appeal Barnum's ruling. But spokesperson Mark Pfeifle indicated the government may be willing to repatriate Kennewick Man if the English government will return the bones of Pocahontas. "I don't know much about human remains," said Pfeifle. "I took art instead at college. But what I do know is that Pocahontas should be repatriated to Cherokee / Powhatan / Podunk / Pawmunkey / Chickapee actor Wayne Newton, who so graciously supported the Republican party and George W. Bush throughout the campaign. Its only right."
© 2001-2002 Indian Country Tomorrow
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