Water Resources Development Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. HECK of Washington. Mr. Chairman, initially, I would like to invoke an expression from Indian Country in the Northwest. I raise my hands in respect first to the chair of the standing committee, Mr. Shuster, who has my deepest condolences, and to my friends, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Walden, and my roommate, Mr. Kilmer.

The story of the Ancient One, or Kennewick Man, as he is known, is very familiar to those of us who live in the Northwest. As the gentleman from Washington indicated, two college students stumbled upon a skull of the Ancient One on the waters of the Columbia River 20 years ago. That accident unearthed one of the most important archeological discoveries in North American history. Think about it: a skeleton virtually fully intact that is 9,000 years old. Since that time, as has been indicated, the five tribes of the region have struggled for two decades for their right to properly honor, as is their cultural way, and rebury their ancestor.
But there is another story here that I think is important to tell.

For generations, American archeologists and collectors raced across the West to collect native artifacts that they shipped back to museums or, more sadly, sold for a profit. Those museums were filled for years with Indian remains from graves, burial platforms, and battlefields that were desecrated, desecrated simply because the nonnative people did not understand the heritage and culture of native people. This era of looting and desecration is, in fact, a stain on our Nation's history.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case with the remains of the Ancient One.

This is, in part, because in 1990, in its wisdom, this institution passed a law to protect Indian remains and cultural items from desecration.

In the last 26 years since its enactment, that law has allowed the Federal Government to return thousands of remains and artifacts to native tribes, and that is exactly what this amendment will do. It would enforce our existing laws and return the Ancient One to the five tribes in the Columbia River Basin, which they have fought for for two decades. They fought against a group of scientists that seek to study these remains in order to learn more about how humans first populated North America.

I don't mean to impugn the motives of these scientists. We all want to support greater scientific discovery; but, frankly, these efforts to prevent the reburial of the Ancient One ignore these tribes' sovereign rights, traditions, and, in fact, their most sacred beliefs.

Throughout American history, the Federal Government and the American people have not always--if we are honest with one another--upheld our vital responsibility to respect the treaty rights of the peoples who have been here since time immemorial. It is something we continue to struggle with--I get that--but we can't let it happen here again.

As my friend from Washington said, the science is settled. The Ancient One is in fact an ancestor of the native peoples of the Columbia River Basin, and he belongs with them. We need to do everything in our power to ensure he is returned as quickly as possibly. That is why I was honored to introduce the Bring the Ancient One Home Act, along with my colleagues here. That is why I am so proud to work closely with Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Walden, and Mr. Kilmer on this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, it has been 20 years, and that is 20 years too long. It is vital that we act now to properly honor the Ancient One. For that reason, I urge adoption of this amendment.

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