DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN:
This time, faith triumphs over science
There are times in my life when my profession as a journalist interferes with my life path. Stories and research that I cover sometimes try to poke holes in my Native beliefs. This puts me in a quandary and causes agitation in my life, because the research can cloud my Native visions.
One of these stories is that of Kennewick Man. He is the oldest and best-preserved human remains discovered in North America. Two young college men found the remains in the Columbia River near Kennewick, Wash., on July 28, 1996. What at first the men thought was a large rock in the water turned out to be the skull of a man.
The body had been partially uncovered when the bank of the meandering river sloughed off. Carbon dating indicates the bones of this man are between 9,000 to 9,500 years old.
This ancient man stood on the shoulder of my path for a couple of years. He stepped forward when an argument between northwestern tribes and scientists heated up over his old bones.
Bury this spirit respectfully, the Umatilla, Yakama, Nez Perce and Colville tribes asked. Doing otherwise is irreverent to the human body, they said.
But studying this "artifact," the scientists countered, could unravel the history of man 9,000 years ago. It could answer a mystery of early life - life so ancient that this would be like opening the door to another world.
Preliminary exams indicated Kennewick Man is not Native American but Caucasian. In a judge's mind, that tipped the scales in favor of the scientists, and they won the right to the Ancient One.
The tribes and the U.S. government did not appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, but that did not end the debate. On Monday, there will be hearing on Senate Bill 536, sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The bill could stop the study, critics say. It would add the phrase "or was" to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which would change the definition of American Indian and could give the tribes possession of Kennewick Man. So do I believe human beings have spirits and the body should be treated respectfully? Before I answer, here are local arguments: If I believe the above, a colleague held, then what about Native American medical students at UND, who dissect cadavers as part of their training? After all, that violates the human body.
My colleague continued to drive home his point. If Renaissance scientists had not cut up cadavers and examined them (in defiance of Catholic Church doctrine at the time), we would not have the curatives we have today, he said. Surgery would be nearly impossible.
Examination of these ancient bones can untangle some mysteries whose solutions can't be obtained in any other way, he said.
I listened. That night I tossed and turned, questioning my teachings. About the medical students: They probably treat their cadavers respectfully and bury them when they're finished. Also, I understand the cadavers are people who had given the medical school written permission to examine their remains, and I don't think the cadavers are Native American.
That differs from a person who has no say in what happens to his remains - like the Kennewick Man.
I spent most of my younger years listening to the teachings of a grandmother, uncles and elders. I tossed aside those teaching when I became a young mother because my life changed. A worldview became more important in my life then.
As my children left the nest and I separated from my husband, I was pulled back to the teachings of my childhood. The visions of my life path became clearer.
I realize we all face challenges to our faith. At times, faith can be as beautiful yet delicate as a drop of rain on a wildflower - easily loosened and lost.
It is faith when the elders say there is a tie, a ribbon of prayer, beliefs and understanding, that leads like the arc of a rainbow to a third world. In that world, our link to our ancestors is visible. It isn't easy to see the tie to the past and the ancient ones. Yet, we believe we contain some of their spirit. We are what they were.
A longtime friend, who spent most of his life walking the Red Road (as the Native path is called) told me that he didn't need faith to know about the world of the ancestors. "I have been there," he said. During one of his ceremonies, Grandfathers or the Ancients Ones took him there, he said.
At this point, it would be proper for the scientists to end their studies and let the tribes bury Kennewick Man. And I know how difficult it would be for scientists to do that, because their lives are steeped in the tenets of science. They do not have the same vision of the world as Native people.
Yet after questioning my own beliefs and spirituality for days and nights, I have come full circle through considerations of science and logic versus spirituality and faith. And I've concluded that Kennewick Man needs to be put to rest peacefully.
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Last updated on July 18, 2005