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APRIL 19, 2001

A group of scientists on Monday filed a 45-page brief with a federal court, seeking the right to study the remains of a 9,000-year-old Native man.

The scientists allege the Department of Interior improperly allowed members of five tribes to access Kennewick Man. They say this helped lead the government to conclude Kennewick Man should be repatriated to the tribes.

The tribes to whom Secretary Bruce Babbitt in September 2000 said Kennewick Man belongs to are: Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation of Oregon, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation of Oregon, the Yakama Nation of Washington, the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho, and the Wanapum Band, a non-federally recognized tribe.

Interior spokeswoman Stephanie Hanna refuted the charges.

After Babbitt made his determination last year, a federal judge reinstated a lawsuit against the goverment.

Kennewick Man was excavated from federal land once belonging to the Umatilla Tribes. The tribes ceded the land to the government in a 1855 treaty.

Get the Story:
Attorneys contend Clinton administration had improper contacts over ancient bones (AP 4/18)

Latest Reports and Data:
Kennewick Man (National Park Service)

Relevant Links:
The Kennewick Man case, Friends of America's Past - http://www.friendsofpast.org/kennewick_case.html

Related Stories:
Kennewick Man lawsuit to proceed (10/26)
Where's the rest of Kennewick Man? (10/02)
Tribes ask scientists not to study Kennewick (09/27)
EDITORIAL: Let scientists study Kennewick (09/27)
Kennewick Man to go to tribes (09/26)
Spirit Cave, Kennewick may share fate (08/17)
Yakama intervention denied (Tribal Law 08/10)
Kennewick won't yield DNA (8/7)
Leaders discuss NAGPRA (7/27)
Repatriation panel supported (06/12)
Yakama Nation files Kennewick Man suit (06/01)
Kennewick testing to begin (4/24)