Kennewick Man Is Covered By NAGPRA

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON—According to an Associated Press report, the Army Corps of Engineers has determined that Kennewick Man, discovered in 1996 in southeastern Washington, is related to modern Native American populations. “I am confident that our review and analysis of new skeletal, statistical, and genetic evidence have convincingly led to a Native American Determination,” said Brig. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, commander of the corps’ Northwestern Division. This means that the 8,500-year-old remains are now covered by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Kennewick Man is currently held at the Burke Museum in Seattle, under the custody of the Army Corps of Engineers. Interested tribes, such as the Colville, Yakama, Umatilla, Nez Perce, and Wanapum Indians, are planning to submit a joint request for the repatriation of the remains, also known as the Ancient One. To read about the earliest people to arrive in North America, go to "America, in the Beginning."