Chronology of American Indian History

June 10

Indians launch a class-action suit against
the Department of the Interior.
Known as Cobell v. Norton, a lawsuit is brought
against the Department of Interior by Indian plain-
tiffs led by Elouise Cobell with the support of the
Native American Rights Fund (NARF) (see entry
for 1970). The suit alleges that the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) has mismanaged funds held in trust for
300,000 Indians in Individual Indian Money (IIM)
accounts. The money in these accounts—which
ranges from 35¢ to more than $1 million—
came from oil, gas, grazing, and timber leases
negotiated by the bureau for non-Indian use of Indian-
owned land.
The largest class action ever initiated against
the U.S. government for financial incompetence,
the suit holds that billions of dollars owed to in-
dividual Indians has been misplaced due to poor
record keeping. According to the NARF, the BIA
neglected to stay in contact with many account
holders, and the funds due some accounts were ille-
gally placed directly into the U.S. Treasury. (See also
entries for NOVEMBER 15, 2005; DECEMBER 19,
2005; and JULY 12, 2006.)

July 19

Kennewick Man is discovered.
On the bank of the Columbia River in Washing-
ton State, a college student stumbles upon a human
skull. Archaeologists rush to the site and excavate
the most complete human skeleton ever found in
the Pacific Northwest. Named Kennewick Man
after a nearby town, the skeleton is estimated to be
9,300 years old.
In October, a massive legal battle will erupt be-
tween five tribal groups in the region, who want to
bury the remains, and scientists, who seek to study
and test the bones. The Indians maintain that the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatria-
tion Act (see entry for NOVEMBER 16, 1990) gives
them the right to the skeleton, which they call the
Ancient One and consider an ancestor. The scien-

tists, who maintain the skull has Caucasoid features,

hold that a skeleton as old as Kennewick man cannot

be traced back to a modern tribe as the act requires.

Complicating the debate is the Asatru Folk Assem-

bly, a group of white Americans devoted to reviving

Norse pagan traditions. The Asatru members also

claim Kennewick Man as an ancestor and seek legal

control over the skeleton. (See also entries for OCTO-

BER 29, 1998 and for FEBRUARY 4, 2004.)

August 29

Activist Winona LaDuke becomes a

vice-presidential candidate.

At a press conference, the Green Party announces

that Winona LaDuke, a 37-year-old Ojibway ac-

tivist, will run as its candidate for vice president.

The founder of the White Earth Land Recovery

This clay model, based on the skull of Kennewick Man,

gives a sense of what the ancient man’s face may have

looked like. (AP/Wide World Photos)