they consider to be their ancestor. Before the bones
are removed from the laboratory, representatives of
these tribes and of the Asatru, a group committed
to reviving ancient Norse religion that also claims
the skeleton, are permitted to perform farewell ritu-
als. (See also entry for FEBRUARY 4, 2004.)
“Native remains are not ob-
jects for scientific curiosity.
They are relatives.... They are
grandmothers and grandfa-
thers. When these relatives are
put away... they’re not to be
disturbed by anyone... and the
place that they rest is sacred
ground.”
—Debra Harry of the Indig-
enous Peoples Coalition against
Biopiracy on the Kennewick Man
controversyDecember
U.S. government joins the Oneida land
claims suit.
In 1970, the Oneida Indians of New York initiated
a lawsuit claiming that local and state governments
had illegally seized 270,000 acres of their land in
the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Although
the Supreme Court found in the Oneida’s favor 15
years later (see entry for MARCH 4, 1985), the tribe
and New York have been unable to negotiate a set-
tlement. To spur on the state to reach an agreement,
the U.S. government files an amended complaint
that names the 20,000 landowners living in the dis-
puted area as defendants. The suit outrages many
non-Indians in the area, some of whom already re-
sent the Oneida’s growing nontaxable income from
their recently opened Turning Stone Casino. (See
also entry for MARCH 29, 2005.)
1999The U.S. Justice Department addresses
concerns over offensive sports team names.
The Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights
addresses the complaint of an adoptive mother of
several Lakota Sioux children regarding the sports
team names—the “Warriors” for a boys’ team and
the “Squaws” for a girls’ team—used at Erwin High
School near Asheville, North Carolina. The inves-
tigation focuses on whether the names violate the
civil rights of Indian students. In response to the
department’s queries, the local school board agrees
to ban the “Squaws” as a team name, while leaders
of the Eastern Cherokee agree to allow the contin-
ued use of the name “Warriors.”April 1Nunavut Day celebrates the creation of a
new Canadian territory.
A day of festivities in the territorial capital of Iqual-
uit marks the creation of Nunavut, a new Canadian
territory carved from the eastern half of the North-
west Territories. Encompassing one-fifth of Canada,
Nunavut covers an area roughly the size of Mexico.
At one celebration, the newly elected prime minis-
ter Jean Chrétien says, “What we affirm today, with
the stroke of a pen, is the end of a very long road,”
referring to the 30 years of negotiation that led to
Nunavut’s formation. With 15 Inuit in the territo-
ry’s first 19-member parliament, Nunavut promises
to give Canadian Inuit—who make up 85 percent
of the territory’s population—their first opportu-
nity for self-government in centuries.April 2“Washington Redskins” loses its
trademarked status.
After a seven-year legal battle, a coalition of promi-
nent American Indians—including Suzan Shown
Harjo and Vine Deloria Jr. (see entry for 1969
and 1996)—convinces a panel of federal judges
to cancel the trademarks protecting the use of theP