Native American Tribe Case Study

Decent Essays
Question 1 The Native American in our group argued that because NAGPRA applies and that the location of the bones indicates Kennewick man could be of Native American ancestry, his bones should be returned to the tribe and reburied after DNA testing is completed in order to show respect to the tribe and their culture. On the other hand, the scientist in our group reasoned that Kennewick man does not actually belong to the tribes because he is not necessarily a part of their heritage as he is more closely related to South and Central American tribes than North American tribes that NAGPRA applies to. Therefore, Kennewick man should remain in the hands of scientists to study the origins of North American populations. In the end, our group agreed to compromise and decided that his bones should be returned to the Native Americans when no more information can currently be obtained from Kennewick man in efforts to please both sides of the battle. While it could be disputed that more knowledge about …show more content…
If testing is not agreed upon, the group said that it should be explained that DNA testing is essential, due to NAGPRA’s affiliation laws, before remains can be claimed by a tribe. Based upon the DNA testing results the group suggested that a time frame of 10-25 years be set to allow research to be conducted to the furthest degree of the technology available at that time. In the chance that multiple tribes claim that the remains are part of their ancestry, the most closely related tribe should receive the remains. Collectively, the group agreed that if many tribes are equally associated with the remains, then a neutral burying ground should be appointed by a council formed by leaders of the tribes to ensure unbiased

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Choctaw Indians Case Study

    • 1771 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Indian (d) a) Although many Choctaw Indians did resist the removal, it was a quieter one than the others. b) After the Treaty of Fort Laramie (also called the Sioux Treaty of 1868,) the Sioux were granted the ownership of the Black Hills and hunting rights to various parts of South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. However, when gold was discovered in the Black Hills, gold prospectors began to violate the treaty, leading to the Black Hills War. When the U.S. government seized the Black Hills and offered the Sioux money for the land, they refused the money and demanded the land back.…

    • 1771 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    NAGPRA Research Paper

    • 129 Words
    • 1 Pages

    NAGPRA is an acronym for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990. NAGPRA was established to consolidate native and nonnative concerns across the United States regarding the treatment of skeletal remains. Under NAGPRA, native burial/ grave sites located on federal or tribal properties are protected, tribal authority is recognized on federal or tribal properties, and all skeletal remains/ funerary objects must be inventoried and culturally-affiliated groups must be consulted with in regards to ownership. Moreover, NAGPRA provides a federally recognized tribe authority over human remains if “a shared group identity” is identified. Therefore, under NAGPRA if a museum curates’ human remains and a federally recognized tribe…

    • 129 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hopi Tribe Case Study

    • 1544 Words
    • 7 Pages

    1. The impact of the development of agriculture did so create a void in the Native American community. They were harbored out of the land they occupied in order for settlers to expand and began harvesting. These Native Americans, in the process, lost their homes and lives fighting in this battle. Some were paid for the land they occupied but some were forced violently to remove themselves from the grounds.…

    • 1544 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Shawnee Indian tribe originated in the Tennessee region. They migrated to many other parts of America including Pennsylvania. They adopted lifestyles that were best suited for the regions that they lived in. Many of the Shawnee tribes lived in Wigwams which was a temporary shelter that are small cone-shaped houses made of wooden frames with arched roofs.…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    4) What is the total population of your reservation? a) The on-reservation population? Until 2012, the tribe had 594 enrolled citizens.…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin is sovereign government with a long and proud history of self-government. As a part of the original five tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Oneidas were under the jurisdiction of the Great Law of Peace, originally recorded on wampum belts. The Confederacy dates all the way back to the 1500s. The Oneida have persevered in the face of adversity for centuries, and we proudly and passionately continue to protect and preserve our homelands. The Iroquois Confederacy originally held millions of acres of land in what is now the state of New York.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My mother, Walks as She Thinks, was a member of the Oglala Sioux and my father, Lone Man, was Brule Sioux. When I was around 5 years old, I lost my father. Following my father's death, my mother’s uncle, an Oglala Sioux leader named Smoke, raised me. At a young age, I sought to distinguish…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    General racism, environmental devastation, and poverty on Indian reservations makes it burdensome for many Native people to live according to their traditions. As many are simply trying to survive daily life, they do not have the energy, money, or time to be taught and teach their indigenous languages and cultures. For some Native peoples, their very survival is dependent on preserving their language and particular ways of life. While it does seem that some languages and cultures are in danger of being exclusive to history, it is a surprising fact to many that many Native groups have a very diverse original language and many cultural customs. With the supremacy of European-American cultural and economic identities, it is astounding to see the perseverance of these sustained livelihoods adapt and remain feasible in the middle of constantly-changing social change.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Native Americans started coming to North America, but while they were there whites started coming and taking over their land. Natives had to adapt to many different things going on around them. Native Americans looked for new opportunities in the west but they lacked money and it made their experience bad. They were dealing with people not liking them and taking advantage of them.…

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Rights of Native Americans is a long debated issue throughout the history of America, beginning all the way back in the 1500s and still being debated today in present times. In many cases, Native Americans did not have a say in the matter, even on their own land. The American government sought to take land away from the Natives for themselves, and in retaliation the Natives fought back to prevent their efforts. However, the U.S. government succeeded in getting land, but the Natives’ efforts weren’t futile as they did manage to prevent them from taking all. Since 1492, when Christopher Columbus arrived in America, Colonists had begun trading for the land of the Natives.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Indian tribe that was researching was the Blackfoot Tribe. The Blackfoot Tribe is an Indian tribe that found most of its settlements on reservations in Montana, Idaho, and Alberta Canada that are still founded today. Since some of the tribe found their settlements in Canada which is in a different country, the tribe had two different names. The common saying in America is Blackfeet and in Canada people say Blackfoot, but the tribe accepts both sayings. The Blackfoot comes from a dark colored moccasins which most indians wear on there feet.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Kennewick Man Case

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The eight scientists took a stand for the pursuit of knowledge and claimed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to repatriate the remains was wrong because they believed that they were not Native American. The coalition of tribes claimed the Kennewick Man as their ancestor and fought for their burial rights, which should have been protected under the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act of 1990 (“NAGPRA”). The outcome of this lawsuit set a precedent of how future NAGPRA cases and highlighted the ongoing battle for American Indigenous rights, but crucial information about America’s past was…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Cherokee tribe is a tribe that originated in southwest Virginia, western North Carolina and South Carolina, north Georgia, east Tennessee, and northeast Alabama, and claiming even to the Ohio River. The cherokee is a very large tribe that stretched over a vast area. The Cherokee tribe had many sub tribes. The sub tribes often spoke different languages. The Cherokee language originated from the Iroquoian language.…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Cherokee Tribe of today is made of 3 different groups that all descend from the same common tribe which was formed in the late 1800s. The Cherokee community has more than 300,000 tribal members, making it the largest of the 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States. Upwards of 800,000 people claim having Cherokee ancestry on US land. With Oklahoma being the largest census of acclaimed Cherokee tribe members, members reside within 14 counties of that state. The Tribes economic impact within Oklahoma and neighboring northeastern states, is at an estimated $1.5 billion.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Native American History

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Native Americans history began thousands of years before Columbus, first European, step foot on their land in North America. The Native Americans are a significant part of the United States culture. Many of the past on stories were created by them specifically. Natives have lived on American land for longer than anyone ever remember. The Native American’s were the first ethnic group to find America, however, they live on this land without no disruption nor struggle.…

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays