Kennewick Man and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Woes

The contentious, sometimes even raucous debate over the repatriation and reburial of Native American human remains has been calm compared to the clamor raised over the so-called Kennewick Man. Although the reburial debate has captured substantial worldwide media and public attention, the debate over the Kennewick find has done what no other case has so far managed - to raise a serious legal challenge to parts of the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), a law providing for the return of human remains and burial artifacts to tribes. This case study examines the core issues surrounding the archaeological discovery, the entanglements related to NAGPRA, and possible impact of Kennewick on NAGPRA itself.