NAGPRA Regs on Unclaimed Ancestors and Funerary Objects, etc.

Here is 43 CFR Part 10.

The summary:

This final rule provides procedures for the disposition of unclaimed human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony excavated or discovered on, and removed from, Federal lands after November 16, 1990. It implements section 3(b) of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

The Ancient One is a Colville Ancestor

Here is “The ancestry and affiliations of Kennewick Man” as published in Nature.

From the abstract:

Kennewick Man, referred to as the Ancient One by Native Americans, is a male human skeleton discovered in Washington state (USA) in 1996 and initially radiocarbon-dated to 8,340–9,200 calibrated years before present (bp)1. His population affinities have been the subject of scientific debate and legal controversy. Based on an initial study of cranial morphology it was asserted that Kennewick Man was neither Native American nor closely related to the claimant Plateau tribes of the Pacific Northwest, who claimed ancestral relationship and requested repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The morphological analysis was important to judicial decisions that Kennewick Man was not Native American and that therefore NAGPRA did not apply. Instead of repatriation, additional studies of the remains were permitted2. Subsequent craniometric analysis affirmed Kennewick Man to be more closely related to circumpacific groups such as the Ainu and Polynesians than he is to modern Native Americans2. In order to resolve Kennewick Man’s ancestry and affiliations, we have sequenced his genome to ~1× coverage and compared it to worldwide genomic data including the Ainu and Polynesians. We find that Kennewick Man is closer to modern Native Americans than to any other population worldwide. Among the Native American groups for whom genome-wide data are available for comparison, several seem to be descended from a population closely related to that of Kennewick Man, including the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Colville), one of the five tribes claiming Kennewick Man. We revisit the cranial analyses and find that, as opposed to genomic-wide comparisons, it is not possible on that basis to affiliate Kennewick Man to specific contemporary groups. We therefore conclude based on genetic comparisons that Kennewick Man shows continuity with Native North Americans over at least the last eight millennia.

Federal Court Dismisses Koniag Effort to Evict Airline and Cabin from Its Lands

Here are the materials in Koniag Inc. v. Andrew Airways (D. Alaska):

1 Complaint

36 Motion to Dismiss

39 Opposition

42 Reply

81 DCT Order

An excerpt:

At Docket 36, Defendant Alicia L. Reft (“Reft”) filed a Motion and Memorandum to Dismiss Complaint against Alicia Reft in her Capacity as President of Karluk Tribal Council and Individual Capacity. At Docket 39, Plaintiff Koniag, Inc. (“Koniag”) filed its Opposition to Reft’s Second Motion to Dismiss and Reft filed a reply at Docket 42. Oral argument was held on January 7, 2014.1 Thereafter, the parties attempt to settle the dispute for several months but the discussions ultimately appear to have been unsuccessful.2 For the following reasons, the Court will grant Reft’s motion.

Briefs in Quechan Challenge to Ocotollo Wind Energy Facility in S. California

Here are the briefs in Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation v. Dept. of Interior:

Doc 11_1 Appellant’s Opening Brief 090413. wo Addendum

Doc 15 CRIT Amicus Brief

Federal Appellee Brief

Reply brief TK

Lower court materials here.

Federal Court Rejects Quechan Tribe Effort to Shut Down Ocotillo Express Wind Power Operation

Here are the materials in Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation v. United States Department of the Interior (S.D. Cal.):

DCT Order Granting Ocotillo Motion

Federal Motion for Summary J

Ocotillo Express Motion for Summary J

Quechan Motion for Summary J

*** Quechan Declaration

Federal Court Dismisses Navajo Claims to Remains from Canyon de Chelly Taken by National Park Service

Here are the materials in Navajo Nation v. Dept. of Interior (D. Ariz.):

DCT Order Dismissing Navajo Complaint

Interior Motion to Dismiss Navajo Complaint

Navajo Response

Interior Reply

An excerpt:

Having considered the parties’ memoranda in light of the relevant record, the Court finds that the motion should be granted to the extent that the Court finds that this action is barred at this time by the doctrine of sovereign immunity.

Our prior post on this suit, including complaint, is here.

New Scholarship on Native Hawaiians and NAGPRA

E. Sunny Greer has published ” Na Wai Hoʻōla i Nā Iwi?  Who Will Save the Bones:  Native Hawaiians and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Actin the Asian-Pacific Law and Policy Journal.

An excerpt:

This paper will argue that although the application of the Native American Graves Protection Act (“NAGPRA”) in Hawai‘i is problematic, it is imperative that Native Hawaiians include the care of ancestral remains and cultural objects as integral components of their cultural and political assertion of sovereignty.

Kawaiisu Tribe of the Tejon NAGPRA/Land Claims Dismissed

Here are the materials in Robinson v. Salazar (E.D. Cal.):

Robinson v. Salazar 3rd Amended Complaint

DCT Order Dismissing Robinson Clams