Spilyay Tymoo, Wsrm Springs, Oregon
April 29, 2004
Published photo of skull criticized
The skull of a Native American,
possibly dating to the 1600s, were found
last month between the ceiling and an
upstairs floor of a Portland home. The
skull is to be turned over to an Oregon
tribe in order to be properly laid to rest.
The owner of the home found the
skull while doing some renovation
work. Investigators believe the skull
was placed in the home decades ago,
for some unknown reason.
Louie Pitt, director of Government
Affairs of the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs, said he is not interested
in the mystery of how the skull came
to be in the house, except for purposes
of determining the possible tribal af
filiation of the deceased person.
The important point, said Pitt, is that
the skull receive quick and appropri
ate interment.
He also said the Orcgonian news
paper was at fault for publishing a pho
tograph of the skull. The act was not
only disrespectful, but also violated tra
ditional and written laws. The Indian
Graves and Protected Objects law says,
"No person shall publicly display or
exhibit any Native American Indian
human remains..." The front page of
the Orcgonian showed a marked con
trast, said Pitt: One photograph was of
the Native American remains, while
another was a respectful picture of a
coffin of a fallen soldier lost in the Iraq
war. "Quite the contrast," said Pitt.
Study: Indians more prone to health
problems than other ethnic groups
Kennewick Man ruling favors scientists
PORTLAND (AP) - Anthropolo
gists seeking to study the ancient
Kennewick Man skeleton received a
favorable ruling recently from the U.S.
9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The court
rejected a request by four Northwest
tribes for a rehearing in the lengthy dis
pute. Tribal lawyers sought to have the
case reheard by the full court after a
three-judge panel ruled in February that
the tribes had no right to the 9,300-year-old
remains under the Native
American Graves Protection and Re
patriation Act.
A brief order issued last week by
the court denied the request from the
Nez Perce, Umatilla, Yakama and
Colville tribes, who want to bury the
remains without a scientific study.
The collection of 380 bones and
bone fragments, which were found in
July 1996 on the banks of the Colum
bia River in Kennewick, Wash., are
being stored at the Burke Museum in
Seattle.
Alan L. Schneider, a Portland law
yer representing the scientists, said his
clients were pleased with the court's
decision.
The tribes and the US. Justice De
partment have 90 days to appeal the
case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Rob Roy Smith, a Seattle lawyer for
the tribes, told The Orcgonian that his
clients "are clearly disappointed. This
case has dealt a staggering blow to the
tribes' ability to protect their cultural
properties." Smith added that no deci
sion has been made whether to appeal
to the Supreme Court.
The February ruling, written by
Judge Ronald M. Gould, upheld a
2002 decision by Magistrate John
Jelderks of the U.S. District Court in
Portland that the scientists can study
the remains.
(AP) - American Indians living
in urban areas are far more likely
than the general population to die
from certain chronic diseases, a new
national study indicates.
Compared with other ethnic
groups, they arc more likely to die
from diabetes and alcohol-related
causes, the study says.
In Billings, Mont., the study
found diabetes-related deaths for
Indians are 447 percent higher than
all other races combined and alco
hol-related deaths are 438 percent
higher.
The leading causes of death are
accidents and cancer.
Compared with others living in
Billings, American Indians experi
enced higher death rates for lung
cancer (94 percent greater), chronic
liver disease and cirrhosis (258 per
cent greater) and influenza and
pneumonia (172 percent greater),
based on data from the years 1990
tol999.
Mystery skeleton
placed in open grave
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ISfc 1 "A
VENTURA, Calif. (AP) - The skel
eton of an American Indian, carefully
bundled in a purple cloth, was mysteri
ously placed into an open grave along
side a casket that had been lowered at
Ivy Lawn Memorial Park funeral.
"I guess someone in their own right
was trying to do the right thing," said
Rob Wood, an environmental special
ist for the Native American Heritage
Commission. The commission is noti
fied when Indian remains are discov
ered. No one is sure who put the bones
in the grave.
Cemetery workers placed plywood
over the open grave last Saturday af
ter graveside services were held, Ivy
Lawn president Terri Taylor Gonzalez
said Wednesday. The workers returned
45 minutes later to cover the casket
with dirt.
When they pulled away the plywood,
they noticed a grocery bag wedged
alongside the concrete burial vault pro
tecting the casket. Inside the paper bag
was the purple material, carefully folded
to hold the skeleton, Gonzalez said.
"It wasn't like they took an old shop
towel. It was very nice material,"
Gonzalez said. "It looked to me that
they were trying to be dignified about
notified police, who con
tacted the family of the person in the
casket to determine if they had any
Chumash or other tribal ancestry. Sgt.
Glenn Utter said there was no connec
tion to the family.
The bones, including a jaw with
ground-down teeth still in it, were likely
parts of one person, county chief medi
cal examiner Ronald O'Halloran said.
The worn teeth and aged bones indi
cated they were old remains likely be
longing to an American Indian, he said.
The bones are being stored at the
coroner's office until Wood's group
determines where they should again be
laid to rest. Without identification,
O'Halloran said he may ask a member
of a local tribe to take responsibility
Government negligent
in fatal highway crash
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) A
judge found the government negligent
on two counts of a wrongful-death case
involving a drunken U.S. Bureau of
Indian Affairs worker who killed four
people in a head-on crash.
The judge in the case said the BIA
should have fired Lloyd Larson long
before he drove a BIA pickup truck
the wrong way on Interstate 40 and
collided head-on with the car carrying
Edward and Alice Ramaekers of Nor
folk, Neb., and fellow Nebraskans
Larry and Rita Beller.
Johnson said he needed more time
to research damages in the "tragic and
senseless deaths" and promised a writ
ten ruling in about 30 days.
for the remains.
"When remains are disturbed, the
journey for that person is halted," said
Regina Washtiqoliqol, a Chumash In
dian who has interred discovered re
mains before. "We want to do some
thing with the remains to make sure
they can continue with their journey."
The purple cloth means the skeleton
wasn't likely placed in the grave by a
Native American, Washtiqoliqol said,
adding red cloth is more appropriate.
"I imagine that somebody came
across these remains in a way that was
less than legal, so they got rid of them
the best way they knew how," she said.
About 100 discovered remains are
reported to Wood's state agency each
year.
"Anytime there is ground-disturbing
work, it's a possibility," he said.
Washtiqoliqol said she'd be happy to
finish the job someone tried to start.
"You have to give someone credit,
because it seems someone had tried to
do the right thing, and for that I say,
'Thank you,'" she said. "But still there
are important things that need to be
done for those remains to ensure the
best possible journey."
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