Pulling teeth. After an eight-year battle, and although the courts have ruled in favor of the scientist plaintiffs in the Kennewick man case , the fun has just begun. No surprise (subscription)*:

But soon after the scientists' apparent victory, a new legal obstacle emerged late last week, this time from the federal government.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has custody of the skeleton and which sided early on with the tribes, has objected to so many aspects of the scientists' study plan that a new round of litigation is probable, according to a lawyer for the scientists.

The previous court battles focused on whether Kennewick Man should be subjected to scientific study. The new legal fight could center on how the bones will be studied.

"This case is long from over," said Alan Schneider, a Portland, Ore., lawyer representing the anthropologists.

Schneider said the government was using the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, which empowers owners of archeological finds, to hinder the scientists' plans.

Schneider predicted that he would go to court "to compel the government" to hand over the skeleton. "That seems to be the direction we're heading," he said.

Jennifer Richman, a lawyer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Portland, said that the scientists' plan was "subject to reasonable terms and conditions."

"We are trying to work it out," she said.

Uh huh.

The tribes also want a say in how the bones are studied and hope to minimize the "destruction of tissue" and the "desecration of the remains," said Debra Croswell, a spokeswoman for the 2,500-member Umatilla Tribe in northeastern Oregon.

Yes, the Corps has demonstrated such exemplary care regarding the preservation of these remains.

Didn't we just have an eight-year-long court process that determined that the tribes did not demonstrate a relation to the individual who left these bones? The tribes have as much right to a say in the study of these remains as I do.

*Update: Here are some links to the same story, which do not require registration:

"Digging up new lawsuit: As anthropologists gain confidence the 8-year fight to study skeleton is over, a new hurdle emerges"

"New battle is looming over study of skeleton"

Posted by Moira Breen at August 02, 2004 04:30 AM