{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://dennyheck.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/congress-just-resolved-a-20-year-debate-over-neolithic-remains", "Congress just resolved a 20-year debate over Neolithic remains", "2016-12-12", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "WA", "Denny Heck", "H001064", "dennyheck.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "A fierce battle over the remains of a Neolithic hunter is a step closer to resolution after Congress passed a water infrastructure measure last week.\nThe skeleton, known as Kennewick Man, was uncovered on federal land that once belonged to the Umatilla tribe near the Columbia River in 1996. Native tribes in the Columbia Basin wanted the remains, which are nearly 9,000 years old, according to carbon dating tests, to be given a proper burial.\nBut some archaeologists argued that Kennewick Man was unrelated to native tribes. Some believed the remains were evidence that Caucasians had been present in the new world thousands of years before European settlers arrived.  \n\tThe debate set off a decadelong court fight between tribes and the archaeologists, who sued the Army Corps of Engineers for the right to study the remains. The case made its way to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled there was insufficient proof that the remains were related to today\u2019s tribes.\nAs the court fight progressed, Kennewick Man\u2019s bones lay under lock and key at Seattle\u2019s Burke Museum.\nAfter another decade of study, DNA tests conducted by the University of Copenhagen and the University of Chicago found genetic links between Kennewick Man and five tribes that claimed him as a relative.\u00a0\nBut Kennewick Man\u2019s final resting place has been delayed by Washington state politics. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has long advocated for returning the bones to Columbia Basin tribes, while then-Rep. Doc Hastings (R), who represented the area where Kennewick Man\u2019s remains had been discovered and chaired the House Natural Resources Committee, did not intervene in the case.\nThis year, Murray and two Washington congressmen \u2014 including Hastings\u2019s successor, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R) \u2014 pushed to include a provision returning the bones in the water infrastructure bill.\nThat provision in the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act would transfer ownership of Kennewick Man\u2019s remains from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has held possession of his remains since his discovery 20 years ago, to the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. The state agency already has regulations in place to return the bones to native tribes.\nThe Senate passed the water infrastructure bill on Friday. The House passed it earlier this month.\n\u201cThe inclusion of this important provision in the final water infrastructure agreement honors the rights and traditions of these Tribes. We are close to finally returning the Ancient One home,\u201d Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash.) said in a statement.\nUmatilla board of trustees member Armand Minthorn said in a statement that Kennewick Man had been \"denied his right to a proper burial for twenty years.\"\n\"We are glad for this long overdue decision. Our efforts will not cease until he returns to his people once and for always,\" Minthorn said. \"We will rest when he can rest.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://dennyheck.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/congress-just-resolved-a-20-year-debate-over-neolithic-remains"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9618140757083893, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}