The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Northwestern Division (Corps) transferred the human remains known as the Kennewick Man, or the Ancient One.
The remains were transferred to the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (Washington) on Friday, Feb. 17 on the condition that the Department then repatriate the human remains to the five Columbia River Plateau tribes. The transfer took place at the Burke Museum in Seattle where the remains have been curated since 1998.
In July 1996, the nearly complete, male skeletal remains of Kennewick Man were inadvertently discovered on Corps land at the McNary Dam Project near Kennewick, Wash. Since that time, the Corps curated the remains at the Burke Museum under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, and followed the Native Americans Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGRPA) in consultation with The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, The Nez Perce Tribe, The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Wanapum Band of Priest Rapids (five Columbia River Plateau Tribes or Tribes).
On December 16, 2016 the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN 2016) was signed into law. Section 1152 of that act required the Corps’ Chief of Engineers to transfer the Kennewick Man remains to Washington within 90 days, notwithstanding NAGPRA. The Corps timely carried out the requirements of this law, which provided in part that the transfer of Kennewick Man is conditioned on the remains being repatriated by Washington to the five Columbia River Plateau Tribes. Washington’s repatriation to the Tribes also occurred on February 17.
“I am proud to have worked closely with tribal leaders, the Army Corps, and Washington State to ensure the Columbia River Plateau Tribes could give their descendant a proper burial and a final resting place,” said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) the sponsor of the Bring the Ancient One Home Act, which was included in WIIN 2016. Murray worked with Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04) and Denny Heck (D-WA-10), who supported this legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Repatriating the remains of the Ancient One was the right thing to do, and I was pleased to work with Columbia Basin tribes, my congressional colleagues, the Army Corps, and the state to get this done,” said Newhouse.
“For two decades, the Native peoples of the Columbia River Basin have sought to lay their ancestor to rest. After a long and courageous effort by these Tribes to have their rights and traditions honored, today we can finally say, ‘welcome home, Ancient One,'” said Heck.
“The transfer of these remains to the State of Washington for repatriation to the five Columbia River Plateau Tribes has been successfully completed in accordance with WIIN 2016,” said Maj. Gen Scott A. Spellmon, Commanding Officer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Northwestern Division. “I wish to express my gratitude to each of the five tribes for the relationships forged during the Corps stewardship of these important remains,” he added.
