Archeologists and Native Americans are at odds over what to do with the skeletal remains of the 9,200-year-old "Kennewick Man" that was discovered alongside a river bank in southeastern Washington state. Archeologists have come to the startling conclusion the skeleton may be that of a Caucasian, possibly representing the group's first known migration into the Americas, but Native Americans claim him as one of their own distant relatives, his burial ground thus deserving of protection against further study. Regardless of his ethnicity, archeologists determined that Kennewick Man died from a spear wound to the pelvis.

Among the groups participating in the ensuing legal battle over the remains was the Northern California-based Asatru Folk Assembly, which is dedicated to inculcating a quasi-Norse tribal identity similar to that of Native Americans. According to Stephen McNallen, the group's founder, "our way of living was much like that of the American Indians whom you admire. The Earth was our mother, Thor rattled in the thunder, Odin led the Wild Hunt, Freyja showed us that women can be both beautiful and strong." The group claims Kennewick Man as one of their own, and deserving of a proper burial according to ancient European customs.

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