Wednesday, Oct. 01, 2003

Stumping for Kennewick Man

By Kristina Lord, Herald staff writer

PROSSER, Wash. -- Will Tran thinks Kennewick Man's remains should be returned to the American Indians.

Adam Trevino believes the ancient bones should be given to scientists for research.

Susan Wilson thinks both sides should compromise: Let the scientists study the bones, then return them to the tribes for burial.

The Prosser eighth-graders' viewpoints differed on where the bones discovered on the banks of the Columbia River in 1996 should go. But the Housel Middle School students agreed on one point: There's no easy answer to the complex question.

And that's what teacher Dean Smith hoped students would learn from the lesson.

The 23 honors English and history students debated at a mock trial Tuesday whether the 9,000-year-old skeleton should be turned over to American Indians or to scientists wanting to study it.

It's a decision the U.S. 9th District Court of Appeals hasn't even made yet. The court is considering the case now. Decisions typically take six months to a year.

Smith created the Kennewick Man lesson plan this summer while participating in a teacher internship program at Battelle. One of 10 teachers chosen for the program, Smith worked with anthropologist Darby Stapp.

"This is one way for teachers to come in and experience hands-on research and create a teaching and learning tool they can take back to the classroom and effectively translate what they did at the lab for students," said Royace Aikin, science education specialist at Battelle.

Students not participating in the trial played the media and took copious notes on the proceedings. They planned to use the information for a 450-word news story they must turn in next week. The student judges have to write a 300-word legal opinion.

Some students dressed the part of the lawyers and expert witnesses, borrowing ties from Dad or wearing professional clothes. Some kids referred to notes while on the stand and while questioning witnesses, and others recited facts from memory.

Dressed in a black dress shirt and tie, Trevino took his role as an attorney on the Native American side seriously. He spoke gravely when he objected to scientists using the word "Indian" instead of "Native American."

Trevino argued that using light-colored clay to recreate Kennewick Man's head gave an unfair perception that the ancient remains may be of Euro-Asian descent.

When Tran took the witness stand, he explained that the Native Americans respect their dead. "Would you like it if I went to one of your ancestors' graves and ran around and researched them?" he asked the scientists.

Amanda McFarland, a lawyer for the scientists, said she respected Native American views on burial but asked them to consider the benefits of research. "We feel the people of America deserve to find out what happened in the past," she said. "Do you want to deny the rights of America and maybe the entire world?"

Not everyone was as prepared for the mock trial as they should have been, admitted Bailey Dezellem of the scientists' side. "We could have done better. We had no good questions for cross examining," she said.

That's one reason why judges unanimously ruled in favor of the tribes in her case. The first group of judges ruled unanimously in favor of the scientists.

"I find it interesting that in both cases the votes were unanimous," said Marc Rollins, who served on the scientist's side in the first trial and as a judge in the second. "I was pretty middle of the road when we started. I respected the Native American views, but it's also a great opportunity for scientists to study something that old."

Molly Field began the debate with a bias toward the scientists but changed her mind the more she researched the case. "Being on the Native American side helped me to learn about the other," she said.