9,000 Years Later, Kennewick Man Will Be Given a Native American Burial

"Five Native American nations will join together to bury his remains".

"He’s been called “the most important human skeleton ever found in North America.” Known as Kennewick Man, the 9,000-year-old Paleoamerican was unearthed in 1996 in the city of Kennewick, Washington. But the discovery was more than a thrilling moment for archaeologists—it sparked a legal battle that lasted more than two decades. Now, reports Nicholas K. Geranios for the Associated Press, Kennewick Man’s saga will finally come to an end with a Native American burial.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has at last declared that Kennewick Man is related to modern Native Americans, writes Geranios, a statement that opens the remains to be claimed and eventually buried under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

The law requires museums that receive federal funds and hold Native American remains to come to an agreement with Native American nations about how to repatriate them. Once tests confirm the affiliation of the remains, the law allows for the Native American nations to determine how to dispose of them. And that’s just what they intend to do."

Erin Blakemore reports for Smithsonian magazine April 28, 2016.