The Repeating Law By : Kevin Meza
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The Repeating Law
By: Kevin Meza
SBS-200
California State University Monterey Bay
The Repeating Law By : Kevin Meza
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WRITERS MEMO
Writing Process: my Process was to get help from anywhere that I could and multiple revisions. I
got help from my mom’s co-worker’s daughter. She majored in some form of English and she
was great help toward developing my paper.
Strengths: to be honest I do not see much strength with in my paper. My strongest parts would
probably be my introduction.
Struggles: With diverse sources it was hard to choose quotes and organize my essay.
Revising and peer review: I had a few of my fellow peers revise my paper multiple times. I
acknowledge they have their own work and feel like they did not put a lot of time into critiquing
my paper.
Overall assessment: I learned that I need to come up with an essay idea sooner so I can put more
time into my essay.
The Repeating Law By : Kevin Meza
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INTRODUCTION
The problem my paper addresses is that during the trials of the Kennewick Man
NAGPRA was never used; the Senate of Indian Affairs approved a bill (S. 2087) to prevent
scientists from researching ancient remains after a certain date in Native American grounds.
NAGPRA was not used in the Kennewick Man trial and now there is another law that will justify
NAGPRA’s original intent. On one hand scientists we may consider physical anthropologists,
such as “Elizabeth Weiss who is a post-doctoral research associate at the Canadian Museum of
Civilization. Her research expertise is in CT Scans, X-rays, and metrics on past populations to
reconstruct lifestyle. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas in Environmental
Dynamics.” (Weiss, 2001). Elizabeth Weiss says that her time with one of the many Kennewick
Man remains was too short and not enough tests were run on the remains. She did not give the
remains back until the very last second of her time with the remains were up. “Heather J.H.
Edgar is Curator of Human Osteology, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, and Research
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of New Mexico. Her research focuses on
microevolution of American populations, applying a biocultural perspective based in political
economy. Additional interests include biological relationships among Paleoindians, archaic
American groups, and recent Native American populations.” (Edgar, 2004) Heather Edgar says
that the remains of the Kennewick Man looked nothing like the “Modern Native American of
Today” (2004, Edgar) that is why it never held up in a federal court and NAGPRA could not be
used because of the skeletal structures of the Kennewick Man. On the other hand, educated
people such as “Susan Bruning who is an assistant director of Arts and Law at Southern
Methodist University School of Arts.” (2006, Bruning) and Jennifer Engum who say that
NAGPRA was not used in the trial. They also say humans 9000 years ago looked different based
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on their sources of scientific research and humans will continue to evolve and changes in every
characteristic of their body. According to Constance Holden; The Senate Indian Affairs
committee have approved a bill that will prevent scientists from researching ancient remains
after a certain date on Native American grounds.
NAGPRA
NAGPRA has given an advantage to American Indians and the remains of their ancestors
and their sacred objects. The Native Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was signed by
George H.W. Bush on November 23, 1990. I believe this should go for every culture so others
ancestors remains not be tampered with for any reason.
CONCLUSION
My professor brought a guest speaker into our class who told us he had worked closely
with Chatters in the recovery of the Kennewick Man. He says that NAGPRA was not used but
that recent evidence disproves the remains found were not Native American. They descend from
Siberia; he said humans never just stay in one place. Humans are always moving and never stay
in one place. Native Americans say today that they have lived on their lands for thousands of
years, which is not true because they all migrate like regular tribes would have done long ago. I
respect the scientist side and considering their research, they may have a point to what they do. I
still hold my position with the Native Americans that the remains of the their ancestors should be
left with them and should not be tampered with at all and NAGPRA should be strictly enforced
and be taken more seriously.
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REFRENCE
Bruning, S. (2006). Complex legal legacies: The native american graves protection and
repatriation act, scientific study, and kennewick man. (Doctoral dissertation).
Edgar, H. (2004). Becoming american or becoming indian?: Nagpra, kennewick and cultural
affiliation.
Engum, J. (2010). Kennewick man: Perspectives on the ancient one.. Manuscript submitted for
publication.
Holden, C. (2007). Remains remain controversial. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Weiss, E. (2001). Kennewick man's funeral: The burying of scientific evidence. (Doctoral
dissertation).