Kennewick Man: Science and sacred rights

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This lesson plan explores the controversy surrounding “Kennewick Man,” the name given to a skeleton discovered near Kennewick, Washington, in July 1996. Identified by scientists as approximately 9,000 years old, Kennewick Man was claimed by five Northwestern tribes, who invoked their right under NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, to rebury him in accordance with their religious traditions. When archeologists filed suit to prevent this, arguing that the skeleton is not a tribal ancestor and can shed new light on the earliest inhabitants of North America, Kennewick Man became the center of a debate between science and religion in which both sought the protection of government and the law.

The lesson plan introduces students to this complex, sharply contested controversy in a case study format, gathering documents from both sides to enrich their understanding of ancient and present day Native American cultures, and to encourage reflection on the relationship between science and religion, which have been cast as antagonists over similar issues from Galileo’s time to our own.

The goals of this lesson are:

• to learn about the discovery of Kennewick Man and what this ancient skeleton suggests about the earliest inhabitants of North America
• to examine the controversy surrounding Native American efforts to rebury Kennewick Man in accordance with their traditions and federal law
• to explore the relationship between science and religion as reflected in their shared concern about human origins
• to gain experience in the close analysis of argument

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 10

• Goal 5: The learner will explain how the political and legal systems provide a means to balance competing interests and resolve conflicts.
  • Objective 5.01: Evaluate the role of debate, consensus, compromise, and negotiation in resolving conflicts.
• Goal 6: The learner will explain why laws are needed and how they are enacted, implemented, and enforced at the national, state, and local levels.
  • Objective 6.07: Compare responsibilities, jurisdictions, and methods of law enforcement agencies.

Grade 11–12 — American Indian Studies

• Goal 1: The learner will examine American Indian life prior to the arrival of Columbus.
  • Objective 1.01: Describe the Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian phases of American Indian prehistory.
• Goal 5: The learner will analyze contemporary issues that face American Indians.
  • Objective 5.01: Analyze the major socio-cultural issues of concern to American Indians, including cultural identity, stereotypes, and relations with non-Indians.
  • Objective 5.03: Explore the major issues of spirituality which concern American Indians including religious freedom, the Native American Church, protection of sacred sites, and repatriation.