Results from the first round of tests are not yet available, and Kaestle says she will need to perform a second round to confirm her results before rendering a verdict. We're just kind of waiting for things to happen to find out if we're supposed to continue with the analysis or not. On October 16, eight scientists filed suit against the Army Corps of Engineers in Federal District Court in Portland, Oregon, where the corps' North Pacific division is headquartered, seeking to gain access to the skeleton and to bar its repatriation. Their complaint alleges that the Corps of Engineers determined the remains were culturally affiliated to the five tribes without sufficient evidence. In its notice of intent to repatriate, however, the corps indicated only the skeleton's age and its discovery within the Umatillas' aboriginal territory.
Forensic anthropology does.
They noted that results of the various studies carried out on the bones raise some doubt as to whether the skeleton is related to modern Indian tribes. So far the Corps of Engineers has refused to allow scientific study of the bones, and the complaint asserts that their refusal violates federal law in three respects. Third, the complaint asserts that the corps' refusal to allow scientists to study the remains violates the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This law guarantees nonwhites the same legal protection as whites, but over the years it has been read also to offer the same protection to whites as to nonwhites, according to Paula A. Barran, another of the scientists' lawyers. If the scientists' requests were refused because of their race or ethnicity, that would indeed seem to constitute a violation of their civil rights.