It’s official: Kennewick Man is Native American
Jun 18, 2015, 3:15 PM | Updated: Jun 26, 2015, 9:12 am
In this file photo, a plastic casting of the skull from the bones known as Kennewick Man found in Eastern Washington. (AP)
(AP)
Scientists with the University of Copenhagen have been studying the skeleton known as “Kennewick Man” or “The Ancient One,” for years. He was discovered in Eastern Washington in 1996 and until now, there’s been no DNA analysis to prove who he really was.
“Comparing the genome sequence of Kennewick Man to genome data of contemporary human populations across the world clearly shows that Native Americans of today are his closest living relatives,” said geneticist Eske Willerslev, the lead researcher.
Willerslev says this conclusion is “great.”
“It’s not always in science that you get conclusions that are very clear. Whether it’s Native American or closely related to someone else in the world, I think that is a very, very clear conclusion.”
The results are of utmost importance to five Native American tribes who have been fighting to take ownership of the remains.
Armand Minthorn of the Umatilla Tribe says he’s so relieved with this development that it’s overwhelming.
“Like with all repatriations and reburials we’ve done, the five tribes have been guided by our culture and our religion,” Minthorn said. “This is no different. What’s significant is that we’ve been waiting for over 18 years for this to happen and now we have proof that we can move forward.”
If the group of five Pacific Northwest tribes are granted rights to Kennewick Man, Minthorn says they will rebury their ancient ancestor with proper honors.
