Reply #4: But a little perspective is needed, too [View All]

[Dogmudgeon]

If "we" didn't have a 400-year-long history of messing with the native Americans and disrespecting their rights, this would never have been an issue.

In fact, if we were currently doing well by the Indians, it wouldn't be a very big issue, either.

A lot of the remaining tribes are trying desperately to hang on to what little they have left of their cultures. The best things that the scientists could do with respect to Kennewick Man's remains is to treat them with respect, return them for re-burial when the studies are done, and make some kind of token of gratitude to the tribes. A little respect now could go a long way when the next paleo-American is found.

Actually, I have no doubt that the scientists involved will be doing just that.

"Giving" Indians reservations, casino gambling, and Billy Jack doesn't exactly qualify as acts of kindness to the peoples whose lands we overran. Making American Indian scientists partners in the scholarship and rediscovery of their origins would be much better. But right now, the First Nations world-wide get lousy education and are collectively destitute. And scientific or not, Kennewick Man became a symbol of their stuggle against the extinction of their cultures.

--bkl