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Subject Areas |
History and Social Studies
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U.S. History - Native American |
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Time Required |
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Two to three class periods
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Skills |
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historical comprehension
historical interpretation
historical research
issues analysis
critical thinking
decision making
argumentation
primary document analysis
oral presentation skills
Internet skills
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Additional Data |
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Date Created: 05/21/02 |
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Kennewick Man: Science and Sacred Rights
IntroductionThis lesson plan explores the controversy
surrounding "Kennewick Man," the name given to a skeleton discovered near Kennewick,
Washington, in July 1996. Identified by scientists as approximately 9,000 years
old, Kennewick Man was claimed by five Northwestern tribes, who invoked their
right under NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
to rebury him in accordance with their religious traditions. When archeologists
filed suit to prevent this, arguing that the skeleton is not a tribal ancestor
and can shed new light on the earliest inhabitants of North America, Kennewick
Man became the center of a debate between science and religion in which both sought
the protection of government and the law. The lesson plan introduces students
to this complex, sharply contested controversy in a case study format, gathering
documents from both sides to enrich their understanding of ancient and present
day Native American cultures, and to encourage reflection on the relationship
between science and religion, which have been cast as antagonists over similar
issues from Galileo's time to our own. Learning Objectives
(1) To learn about the discovery of Kennewick Man and what this ancient skeleton
suggests about the earliest inhabitants of North America; (2) To examine the controversy
surrounding Native American efforts to rebury Kennewick Man in accordance with
their traditions and federal law; (3) To explore the relationship between science
and religion as reflected in their shared concern about human origins; (4) To
gain experience in the close analysis of argument. Note:
This lesson plan explores issues that may touch uncomfortably on some students'
personal belief systems. Educators are advised to review the lesson and preview
the recommended study materials to determine whether they are appropriate for
class discussion. 1
The controversy surrounding Kennewick Man provides an opportunity to present a
case study in the sometimes troubled relationship between science and religion.
Begin by gathering documents that reflect the competing perspectives in this controversy,
using the resources available through EDSITEment. For example: - An
essay by James Chatters,—“Meet
Kennewick Man”, from the PBS website and documentary, “Mystery
of the First Americans”, a link available through the EDSITEment-reviewed
Arctic Studies Center.
- "A
Battle Over Bones"—an article by Andrew Slayman, published in Archaeology
magazine (January/February 1997), which provides a detailed account of the controversy,
including background on NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act, under which a group of Northwestern tribes claimed the right to rebury the
Kennewick Man remains, and an outline of the legal arguments advanced by archeologists
who wished to claim Kennewick Man for science. Available through EDSITEment
at the ArchNet
website. (At the website's homepage, click on "Journals & Publishers," then click
"Electronic Journals," and under the heading "Archaeology Magazine," click "Web
Page." Scroll down and click "Back Issues," then select "January/February 1997"
and click "A
Battle Over Bones" in the table of contents.)
- "Human
Remains Should Be Reburied"—a statement by Armand Minthorn, a leader of the
Umatilla tribes, which took the lead in Native American efforts to gain custody
of the Kennewick Man remains. Writing in September 1996, Minthorn explains the
tribe's legal position, articulates its religious beliefs, and challenges scientific
arguments that Kennewick Man should be subjected to further study. Available through
EDSITEment at the NativeWeb
website. (At the website's homepage, click on "Resource Center," then
select "Nations Index" in the navigation listing at the left. Scroll down and
click on "Umatilla," then select "Issues, Policy Statements and Fact Sheets" and
click on "Human
Remains Should Be Reburied.")
- Claims
for the Remains—with links to online essays by
scientists explaining the significance of the Kennewick Man discovery within the
context of new archeological evidence that suggests European peoples may have
been among the earliest inhabitants of North America. These essays also address
Native American concerns about the scientific study of ancient human remains and
comments on the relationship between religion and science. Available at the PBS
documentary website, "Mystery of the First Americans" (At the website's homepage, click on "Claims for the Remains", and click on links to essays by eight scientists.)
- "Kennewick
Update"—a newsbrief published in Archaeology magazine (November/December
1998) which reports the decision by the National Park Service to conduct further
studies of Kennewick Man in order to determine if the remains are Native American
and therefore subject to NAGPRA. Available through EDSITEment at
the ArchNet website.
(At the website's homepage, click on "Journals & Publishers," then click "Electronic
Journals," and under the heading "Archaeology Magazine," click "Web Page." Scroll
down and click "Back Issues," then select "November/December 1998" and click "Newsbriefs"
in the table of contents, then scroll down to "Kennewick
Update.")
- Additional Documents—A
full text of the Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is available through
EDSITEment at the NativeWeb
website. (At the website's homepage, click "Resource Center," then select "Science"
and click on "Anthropology & Archeology." Scroll down and click on "National Archeological
Database," then select "NADB-NAGPRA" and click on "Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act." You may also wish to click
on "Letter
. . . regarding questions about Kennewick Man" for a detailed
analysis of the law's application in this case by the Chief Archeologist of the
National Park Service, which administers NAGPRA.) Statements by Umatilla leaders
at later stages in the case are available through EDSITEment at the NativeWeb
website. (At the website's homepage, click on "Resource Center," then select "Nations
Index" in the navigation listing at the left. Scroll down and click on "Umatilla,"
then select "Issues, Policy Statements and Fact Sheets" and click on "Tribal
Chair Questions Scientists' Motives" [November 1997] and "Kennewick
Man Issue Damages Relationships" [November 1998].) Finally, there are additional
articles exploring the issues that underlie the Kennewick Man controversy within
the "Repatriation" exhibit at the Arctic
Studies Center website. (At the website's homepage, click on "Repatriation"
in the righthand margin, then scroll down and click on "More
About Repatriation."
2
Have students review these documents and work in study teams
to outline the facts of the case. To prepare for this exercise, guide the class
through a sample review of one document, highlighting important points of the
argument. Have a representative of each team present the group's summary of one
phase of the case. You may wish to use the summary below as a supplement to students'
presentations. - Discovery:
Kennewick Man was discovered by accident in July 1996 on the banks of the Columbia
River near Kennewick, Washington. James Chatters, the archeologist who first studied
the nearly complete skeleton, assumed that it was the remains of an early pioneer,
based on Caucasian features of the skull and bone structure. He noticed, however,
a stone projectile point (arrow or spear head) lodged in the pelvic bone that
is of a type usually identified as from 8,500 to 4,500 years old. To determine
the age of the skeleton, he had radiocarbon tests performed, which revealed that
it is approximately 8,400 years old. Kennewick Man, in other words, comes from
the time of North America's earliest inhabitants and his physical traits suggest
that non-Indian peoples may have been among the first settlers here.
- Native
American Claims: When it was learned that Kennewick Man pre-dates the arrival
of Europeans in the New World, the skeleton became subject to the requirements
of NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. This federal
law is designed in part to restore to Native Americans the ancestral remains and
associated sacred objects that have been collected as scientific specimens over
the decades and put on display in museums across the United States. The law also
allows Native Americans to claim newly discovered remains of indigenous peoples,
assigning control over the remains to an individual or tribe based on evidence
of a biological, geographical, or cultural affiliation. Under this latter provision,
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (which had jurisdiction in this case because
Kennewick Man was discovered in a navigable waterway) suspended any further scientific
study of the skeleton and notified tribes with ancestral homelands in the area
where it was found. A consortium of five Native American groups, led by the Umatilla
tribes, claimed a geographical and cultural affiliation with Kennewick Man, based
on the age and location of the skeleton, and announced their intention to rebury
him.
- Archeological
Objections: Alarmed that they would lose the opportunity to study Kennewick
Man further, archeologists filed suit against the Corps of Engineers to block
the transfer of the skeleton to the tribes. The scientists argued that there is
insufficient evidence to demonstrate a cultural affiliation between Kennewick
Man and these tribes, and that, based on the skeleton's physical characteristics,
there is no biological affiliation between Kennewick Man and any modern tribe.
They also claimed a right to study the skeleton under a provision of NAGPRA that
permits scientific research that will be "of major benefit to the United States,"
and charged that denying their claim to the skeleton "because they're not Native
Americans" would be a violation of their civil rights. Although not a party to
this lawsuit, the Umatilla tribes argued that NAGPRA entitled them to claim the
Kennewick Man remains based on geographical affiliation, and that their religious
beliefs required that the remains be quickly and respectfully reburied. In addition,
they denied the scientists' theories about Kennewick Man, explaining that, according
to their oral histories, Indian people have always lived in North America but
have not always looked the way they do today. Faced with this impasse, the court
and Corps of Engineers deferred a final decision in the case for more than two
years.
- Resolution:
Reports about Kennewick Man stirred widespread public interest in the controversy
until, in late 1998, the National Park Service, which administers NAGPRA, finally
agreed to conduct tests to determine if the skeleton is Native American as defined
under the law, and if so whether it is affiliated to any modern tribe. After first
raising objections, the archeologists who had sued for permission to study Kennewick
Man eventually accepted the National Park Service plan. The Umatilla tribes, who
felt that their position had been misrepresented in the press and who still felt
a religious obligation to rebury the Kennewick Man remains, regretted but did
not resist the decision.
3
Against this background, have students analyze the Native
American point of view in the Kennewick Man controversy, as expressed in the Umatilla
position paper, "Human
Remains Should Be Reburied." - As students
discuss this document, encourage them to recognize that the Umatilla speak for
a comprehensive and time-tested world view which is rooted in cultural tradition
and in the historical struggle to preserve their traditions against the pressures
of a dominant culture.
- Have students identify
evidence of this struggle in the Umatilla position paper. Note, for example, the
emphasis on law and other sources of social authority—the ties of homeland, treaty
rights, religious doctrines, cultural traditions, tribal policies and procedures,
federal statutes, oral history. Why do the Umatilla substantiate their rights
in this way? What sources of authority could archeologists cite? What gives archeologists
the right to claim Kennewick Man for study? On the other hand, how does the history
of legal disputes between Indians and non-Indians reflect on this case? Have laws
protected Indian rights in the past when non-Indians have sought "to bend the
laws to fit their desires," as the Umatilla spokesman puts it?
- In
addition to the history of relationships between Indians and non-Indians, there
is a special history of antagonism between Indians and scientists. Inform students
that because scientists at one time regarded Native Americans as "a vanishing
race," they were especially aggressive in collecting and preserving Native American
skeletal remains. Until recently, for example, Native American remains made up
more than 60 percent of the Smithsonian Institution's skeletal remains collection,
a number far out of proportion to the percentage of Native Americans in the world
population. Where does the Umatilla position paper allude to this history of aggressive
scientific study? How does this legacy bear on the case from the Umatilla point
of view?
- Setting the historical context
aside, focus next on the Umatilla's direct arguments against the need for further
research, where they oppose cultural traditions to science. Instead of an ancient
immigrant, they see Kennewick Man as an ancestor, because tradition says that
Indians have lived in North America from the beginning of time. Instead of a Caucasian,
they see him as one of their own, since tradition says that Indian people have
not always looked the way they do today. Instead of a clue that can unlock the
past, they see him as part of their past, a confirmation of their past, and feel
an obligation to respect the link between them. Have students respond to this
clash between Native American and scientific viewpoints.
4
Now turn to the scientific point of view in the Kennewick Man controversy, as
expressed in the "Claims
for the Remains", available at the PBS documentary website, "Mystery
of the First Americans" with links to essays by eight scientists. - Remind
students that this article is not a response to the Umatilla position paper, but
it does indicate why archeologists consider study of Kennewick Man so critically
important. Have students explain the theory presented here. What is meant by the
"maritime revolution"? How does evidence that ancient peoples could travel significant
distances by water extend the period during which people first came to North America?
How does it expand their possible routes of migration? How would DNA testing of
ancient remains shed light on the theory of multiple ocean-going migrations? What
would a genetic link between Kennewick Man and ancient peoples in Europe prove
about the earliest inhabitants of North America?
- In
addition to explaining why study of Kennewick Man is important to scientists,
the article indicates that there is "wide popular interest" in solving the mysteries
of ancient North America and that science stands "in the vanguard of the popular
will" when it seeks answers to such mysteries. Have students consider how this
claim of popular support for science might bear on the dispute. Should the majority
rule in a question of religious rights? Is there a public "right to know" that
outweighs considerations of respect for the dead? To what extent, from a Native
American point of view, might this line of argument be understood as a variation
on "might makes right"?
- The article explores
the relationship between science and religion most directly when it describes
the study of human remains as "an echo" of traditional rituals of respect for
the dead. What is the basis for this analogy? What kind of meaning do scientists
see in human remains? What kind of significance do human remains have for traditional
cultures? Later the article extends this analogy by claiming that archeologists
have inherited from priests and shamans the role of answering questions about
the origins of human culture. What does this evolutionary view imply about the
role of religion in today's world? What value does it ascribe to religious traditions?
How does it compare to the Umatilla faith in truths handed down from the past?
What is at risk for Native Americans when such truths are contradicted by scientific
fact?
5
Conclude this lesson by considering the outcome of the Kennewick Man controversy.
Who won? Was the outcome fair? Remind students that NAGPRA requires evidence of
affiliation before a claim of human remains can be approved. In practice, this
evidence must meet scientific standards, and by those standards the evidence of
Kennewick Man's affiliation to the Umatilla is at least uncertain and contradictory.
Have students, however, form their own judgment of the case. Do they see any strategy
for reaching a compromise between the claims of religion and those of science?
As an exercise in conflict resolution, divide the class into negotiating teams
for both sides in this controversy and have a discussion aimed at finding a way
out of this impasse and at framing a policy for avoiding such conflict in the
future. Extending the LessonArcheologists
and other scientists whose work involves native peoples have made cooperation—not
confrontation—their goal in research. For examples of such cooperation in action,
see the "Yup'ik
Masks" exhibit at the Arctic
Studies Center website, as well as research reports on "DNA
and the Peopling of Siberia" and on the recovery of the body of an Alaskan
native girl who died more than 700 years ago ("Dear
Young Girl"). This website also provides access to the ethical
guidelines developed for research among native peoples. (At the website's
homepage, click on "Yup'ik
Masks" for the exhibit. To access the research reports, click on "Arctic Social
Sciences" in the righthand margin of the homepage, then select "DNA
and the Peopling of Siberia," or "Dear
Young Girl," or "Ethics.")
To explore religious rights in another context, visit the "Oyez
Oyez Oyez Religion" in the scroll box. Scroll down to find "Lyng
v. Northwest Indian CPA [1987]." ) Other Information
Standards Alignment
- ACTFL-2.1
Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied more
- ACTFL-4.2
Demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and one's own more
- CIVICED (9-12) I
What are Civic Life, Politics, and Government?
- CIVICED (9-12) II
What are the Foundations of the American Political System?
- CIVICED (9-12) III
How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American Democracy?
- CIVICED (9-12) V
What are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy?
- NCSS-1
Culture and cultural diversity. more
- NCSS-10
Civic ideals and practices. Citizenship in a democratic republic. more
- NCSS-2
Time, continuity, and change. The ways human beings view themselves in and over time. more
- NCSS-3
People, places, and environments. more
- NCSS-5
Individuals, groups, and institutions. more
- NCSS-6
Power, authority, and governance. more
- NCSS-8
Science, technology, and society. more
- NCSS-9
Global connections and interdependence. more
- NCTE/IRA-1
Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works. more
- NCTE/IRA-11
Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
- NCTE/IRA-3
Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes. more
- NCTE/IRA-4
Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes. more
- NCTE/IRA-6
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts. more
- NCTE/IRA-7
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience. more
- NCTE/IRA-8
Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge. more
- NGS-10
The Characteristics, Distribution, and Complexity of Earth’s Cultural Mosaics
- NGS-17
How to Apply Geography to Interpret the Past
- NGS-8
The Characteristics and Spatial Distribution of Ecosystems on Earth’s Surface
- NGS-9
The Characteristics, Distribution, and Migration of Human Population on Earth’s Surface
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