ALERT: Senate to expand the definition of Native AmericanAs early as next week (April 4-8, 2005) the US Senate will vote on S.536. In Section 108 of this bill, the Senate Indian Affairs committee quietly and unanimously voted to amend NAGPRA's definition of Native American. No public hearings were held on this sweeping change.
This expansive definition of Native American sets the stage to overturn the Kennewick Man decisions rendered by the Federal District Court of Oregon and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. More than Kennewick Man is at stake. Unless Section 108 is deleted, public access to the factual understanding of the nation's prehistory shifts to the exclusive control of American Indians.
FAX your concerns to your state's Senators and Senate Majority Leader Frist. Ask them to delete Section 108 from S.536. (US Mail will not reach these offices in time). Every FAX counts.
Voice your concerns - NOW
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Subject: S.536 - DELETE Section 108
Delete Section 108 of S. 536. NAGPRA's definition of Native American should not be amended. In 2004 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled in the Kennewick Man lawsuit that the government's interpretation of the definition of Native American yields an absurd result. This flawed interpretation persists with the language added in Section 108. The Senate must not pass any law that yields an absurd result. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs did not hold public hearings on this matter, nor did it consider the broad implications of this change nor interests of the greater public.
Y'all know the drill.
Related links here. (Yeah, I know the Kennewick page is ugly. I'll get around to prettying it up. Soon.)