More developments around the federal law governing repatriation of Native American remains: A year ago, a skeleton estimated to be 9,300 years old, was discovered by a pair of college students watching a hydroplane race on the Columbia River. Dubbed "Kennewick Man" by scientists studying it, the remains have been claimed by area Native Americans, who refer to it as the "Ancient One."

Hundreds of Indian mummies and skeletons have changed hands over the last decade, as museums, roadside burial cave attractions, and scientific institutions have complied with the repatriation laws. Remains are often given proper burial in ancestral lands of the affiliated tribe.

The problem with the "Ancient One," is that he's so old, no one is really sure to whom he is related. Just before the scheduled handover to the tribes, eight leading U.S. anthropologists filed suit claiming a constitutional right to study the skeleton.

[09/14/1997]