The case of Kennewick Man – or the Ancient One – as Native Americans refer to him, dragged through the courts for years before Judge John Jelderks found that he could not be defined Native American under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
A recent case regarding repatriation of even older remains and artifacts from Spirit Cave, Nev., suggests that the Kennewick Man case should be used as a legal precedent and that the remains of Spirit Cave Man are not Native American.
Four University of New Mexico anthropologists have written an article where they suggest that a precedent in Paleoindian human remains is “inappropriate and unnecessary.” They claim that each case is unique and that repatriation determination should be handled case-by-case.
Haven't read the article yet. It's difficult to see how one could argue for cultural affiliation over several thousand years. Biologically. .. .I dunno how close one could to really specifying and ancestor-descendent relationship.