 Robert
Tomanawash struggled to keep his emotions in check. His
lips curled in an expression of inner turmoil as he gripped
the lectern at the edge of the Columbia River.
Just
downstream, Kennewick Man was inadvertently discovered
four years ago, sparking a worldwide controversy about
the rights of science vs. religious beliefs.
"He
was committed to the dirt and that is where he should
remain until the judgment day," the 67-year-old Wanapum
elder said Tuesday morning, spilling four years of pent-up
feelings about remains American Indians call The Ancient
One.
Later,
he explained his emotions. "I get that way when I
talk for my people—for my land, for my children,
and the children unborn yet," said Tomanawash. "I
am speaking for them."
Comforted
by Monday's announcement that the federal government wants
to give Northwest American Indian tribes the 9,000-year-old
remains, tribal elders gathered in Columbia Park on Tuesday
morning to pray, sing and reach out to an American audience
they feel has largely misunderstood them.
The
meeting served to unite Nez Perce, Yakama, Colville, Wanapum
and Umatilla leaders. "We have endured much, but
The Ancient One has endured more because his spirit has
been disturbed," said Colleen Cawston, chairwoman
of the Colville Business Council.
The
hourlong ceremony was perhaps the most heartfelt public
expression of Indian perspective in the drawn-out case.
Tribal leaders took the opportunity to relate their struggle
to that of all minority groups.
"If
Native Americans are not allowed ... their belief system,
who is next?" asked Jeff Van Pelt, manager of the
cultural resources protection program for the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. "Can archaeology
(overrule) all beliefs?"
On
Monday, the Department of the Interior and the Army Corps
of Engineers told U.S. Magistrate Judge John Jelderks
that Kennewick Man could "reasonably" be linked
to modern tribes through tribal oral history and the location
where the bones were found. No funeral objects or other
identifying artifacts were found with Kennewick Man, except
for an obscured spear point lodged in his hip bone.
Even
without much hard evidence, the government said its duty
was to interpret the graves protection laws in favor of
the tribes.
The
federal ruling was especially interesting in contrast
to an August determination by the Bureau of Land Management
that another of the nation's oldest skeletons cannot be
"culturally affiliated" with modern tribes.
The
BLM—a sub-agency of the Department of the Interior—determined
Spirit Cave Man was American Indian but said he could
not be linked to any contemporary group, even though he
was found with well-preserved fabric mats that served
as clues to his cultural identity.
The
top BLM official in Nevada said that after four years
of research, the government's only option was to keep
the 9,000-year-old bones.
While
Spirit Cave Man mirrors the Kennewick case in some details,
the government is taking a different approach in Washington.
Its
long-awaited position released Monday is being reviewed
in U.S. District Court in Portland. Judge Jelderks is
expected soon to convene lawyers for the government and
for eight scientists who are suing for the right to study
the bones.
After
that, the case will likely return to the courtroom, where
scientists' lawyers will challenge federal assertions.
While
Indians were heartened by Monday's decision, so, too,
were archaeology advocates, who are no less adamant about
the importance of protecting their beliefs.
"We're
off dead center now, and it looks like the boundaries
are clear on where (federal agencies) are coming from,"
said Cleone Hawkinson, a Portland anthropologist and founder
of Friends of America's Past, which seeks to preserve
the rights of scientists to study ancient artifacts.
Hawkinson,
however, expressed deep concern clues to the past are
being obscured by government meddling. "We have all
this exciting stuff and it seems to be almost just evaporating
before our very eyes," she said. "It's an exciting
time, but there's also a bit of frustration. "These
things could disappear as quickly as we find them."
Tribal
elders also exhibited frustration, faulting the government
for taking so long to figure out that Kennewick Man was
their ancestor. In a joint statement, they asked for the
government, the courts and the scientists to support a
"swift return and reburial" of Kennewick Man.
"It's
time to bridge the gap between the tribes and the scientific
community so that we can rebuild the relationships that
existed before this unfortunate incident," said the
tribes' news release.
While
scientists may support that in theory, at least some of
them are committed to fighting a ruling they believe undermines
their profession. And because it's high-profile, the Kennewick
case has become their battle line.
"It
seems to me that all of the resources within the government
are applied very liberally to the tribal issues,"
Hawkinson said. "We need to become more political
and use those political forces to help put science back
at the table."
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