ABSTRACT
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was passed in 1990 to return to tribes the fundamental human right to protect the graves of their ancestors from unconsented excavation. In 1996, a lawsuit was filed challenging the application of NAGPRA to the Ancient One (‘Kennewick Man’), a man who lived and died on the Columbia Plateau over 8000 years ago. The lawsuit was the first of its kind to test the entirety of the regulatory process adopted under NAGPRA. In that case, eight scientists sued the United States to seek access to study the Ancient One and disputed that he was related to the tribes that claimed him. Controversially, during the administrative process under NAGPRA, the Department of the Interior conducted DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) testing on Ancient One over the objections of the tribes requesting his return under NAGPRA. Those tests failed to find sufficient DNA to reach conclusions of cultural affiliation under the law. Ultimately the scientists won the right to access the Ancient One for study over tribal objections. However, ten years after the final decision in this case, new results demonstrated that the DNA of the Ancient One was consistent with Native American DNA and had clear association with the Native American people who claimed him as their own. The ability to attribute ancient DNA to modern tribes has brought both promise and peril to the repatriation arena.
