Letter: It is time to return Kennewick Man

I love hearing the firsthand accounts of people’s adventures. Reading their stories is interesting. Seeing and hearing the emotion in their voices as their stories are recounted is fascinating. I attended a banquet where I watched Jessie Owens share his story about competing in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. How could people treat each other that way? A co-worker witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor. He spoke of seeing the attacking planes and finding metal pieces that had been “blown” into his yard.

I was interested in hearing the stories that Kennewick Man had to share. What did he see and experience? There were none of his descendants to recount his stories in the oral tradition. I supported allowing the anthropologists the opportunity to learn about him. Now that the studies have been completed and we know a little bit about his life, it is time to return Kennewick Man for a solemn burial by his family.

I am sorry that my desire to learn of Kennewick Man’s stories overrode my sense of what should have been done when he was first found.

This story was originally published December 25, 2016 at 4:08 AM with the headline "Letter: It is time to return Kennewick Man."