A view of the Columbia River from Kennewick, Washington. Photo: Ken Lund
The remains of a Native ancestor known as Kennewick Man have finally been laid to rest. The Colville Tribes, the Umatilla Tribes, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Yakama Nation and the Wanapum Tribe reburied the Ancient One, as he is known to their people, at an undisclosed location on the Columbia River plateau on Saturday morning. The ceremony followed a 21-year battle over the status of the remains. “We always knew the Ancient One to be Indian,” Aaron Ashley, who serves on the board of trustees for the Umatilla Tribes, said in a press release. “We have oral stories that tell of our history on this land and we knew, at the moment of his discovery, that he was our relation.” The remains were found on federally-managed land along the Columbia River in 1996 in present-day Washington. The site used to be a part of the Umatilla Reservation until the tribes were forced to cede it by treaty. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was prepared to return the remains to the tribes under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act until non-Indian scientists filed a lawsuit. They were able to study the Ancient One after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the remains were too old to be covered by the law. The work, however, confirmed that the Ancient One was indeed Native. According to DNA tests, his closest living descendants are citizens of the Colville Tribes. Last April, the Army Corps again concluded that the remains could be returned to the tribes. That's when Congress stepped in with S.612, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act), to ensure the Ancient One could be reburied. Read More on the Story:
Ancient One, also known as Kennewick Man, repatriated (The Tribal Tribune 2/18)
Tribes return ancient Kennewick Man to the ground (The Tri-City Herald 2/19)
‘A wrong had finally been righted’: Tribes bury remains of ancient ancestor known as Kennewick Man (The Seattle Times 2/19)
After two decades, the Kennewick Man is reburied (The Los Angeles Times 2/20)
'Kennewick Man' remains returned, finally laid to rest (KING5 2/21)
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