“a wonderful way for people who do not know
enough about our Indian heritage to learn about a
rich and vibrant culture.”
June
Archaeologists discover a Native skeleton
in Alaska.
Archaeologists from the Forestry Service and Smith-
sonian Institution excavate a cave on Prince of Wales
Island in Alaska and come upon a 9,800-year-old
skeleton. With the Kennewick Man controversy in
mind (see entry for JULY 19, 1996), the scientists
stop digging when they determine the bones are
human and consult with the Klawock and Craig,
two Native groups in the area. After meeting with
scientists, the councils of the two groups reach an
agreement with the Forestry Service to allow the
bones to be carbon dated and analyzed, on the con-
dition that further excavations at the discovery site
be monitored to protect its sanctity.
June
California tribes speak out against state
regulation on gambling.
In meetings with Congress and Attorney General
Janet Reno, Indian leaders from California seek
support for their right to operate casinos without
interference of the state’s governor, Pete Wilson. By
the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (see entry for
OCTOBER 17, 1988), tribes are required to negoti-
ate an agreement, or compact, with a state before
opening a gambling operation within its borders.
The compacts offered by Wilson, however, are so
restrictive that many California tribes have opened
gaming houses without state approval. Wilson has
further infuriated these tribes by enlisting the aid
of federal prosecutors to shut down illegal gambling
operations by confiscating valuable slot machines.
August 11
The Mashantucket Pequot Museum opens.
Using profits from the Foxwoods casino and resort
(see entry for FEBRUARY 12, 1992), the Mashan-
tucket Pequot open a $193 million museum and
research center on their reservation in Connecticut.
The museum features state-of-the-art interactive
films and videos, a re-creation of a complete Pequot
village, and permanent exhibits on the history of
the Pequot, who were nearly decimated in a brutal
conflict with British colonists (see entry for 1637).
At 308,000 square feet, the lavish museum complex
is 20 percent larger than the proposed National
Museum of the American Indian, which will open
in Washington, D.C., in 2004 (see entry for SEP-
TEMBER 21, 2004).AutumnKareem Abdul-Jabbar coaches Apache
basketball players.
Retired professional basketball star Kareem Abdul-
Jabbar comes to Whiteriver, Arizona, on the White
Mountain Apache Reservation, to help coach the
Alchesay High School basketball team. Abdul-
Jabbar was invited to teach at the school by the
Whiteriver school superintendent after the athlete,
a Native American–history enthusiast, attended the
dedication of Alchesay’s new activities center and
participated in Apache ceremonies on the nearby
San Carlos Reservation.October 29Kennewick Man is moved to a
Seattle museum.
The bones of Kennewick Man—the nearly 10,000-
year-old skeleton found on the banks of the
Columbia River (see entry for JULY 19, 1996)—are
transported from the Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory to the Burke Museum of the University
of Washington, where they can be examined by sci-
entists under the supervision of the Department of
the Interior.
The move is ordered by Judge John Jelderks,
who is presiding over the legal battle involving the
skeleton. His ruling is a disappointment to the five
Northwest tribes who have been fighting for the
right to bury the remains of Kennewick Man, whom