URGENT UPDATE: NO BONES SENT TO SMITHSONIAN!!!!

This post is by far the most conclusive evidence that Kevin Annett is a liar.

On October 15th, Kevin Annett responded on his radio show to an Aboriginal Peoples Television Network’s Investigative report called Unmarked Graves.  During that radio show I listened in and posted questions on the chat room.  At one point, Kevin stated that the anthropologist present at the Mush Hole (he named Greg Olson as the anthropologist) was 90% confident that the bones excavated were human.  In Kevin’s retort to APTN he states:

What actually happened is that with full permission, I conducted two small digs in the presence of authorizing Mohawk elders and uncovered many bones close to and mixed with the school uniform buttons I mentioned. That same week, an archeaologist named Kris Nahrgang and an Ontario fire marshal called Greg Olson sat with me and the Mohawk elders and studied the bones we unearthed. After a half hour of examining one small bone, Olson said, with Nahrgang agreeing,

“I’m 90 pecent cetain this is human, probably a small child’s knee socket. But we’ll need a forensic examination to be sure.”

At this point in the show I am confused about who exactly is the anthropologist in the scenario Kevin is describing, as, months earlier, Kevin named Nargang as the anthropologist on the scene.  Later, Kevin is quoted as saying “you need this to be done professionally and get DNA results done” (in an interview with Tony Buotros of Global F.A.C.T. Radio on blogtalkradio.com – at approximately 29:00 minutes).  In that interview, Kevin states (and I quote word for word):

“They both sat with us and said they were definitely human, definitely small children.  They said however, “you need this stuff done professionally and DNA results done”.  But of course, it costs thousands of dollars to do that which we didn’t have.  So, they said at least send it to a place where a guy could issue a report confirming that they’re human, um, what we then did is we sent them to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and um, on the basis of that… it was very odd what happened becuase the fellow at the Smithsonian said he believed they were human, but although they were of such a quality and such small size that he’d need a bigger sample to actually… before he was willing to put his name to a piece of paper – he’d need a bigger sample.”

As I was part of the second hour of this same radio show, I’d just heard Kevin’s Smithsonian Institute claim but could not question him about it as he abruptly hung up at the break.   At the time, this seemed hugely far-fetched and off-the-cuff and so contradictory to the kind of meticulous work that the Smithsonian Institute was world renowned for.  I have watched enough History Channel to know that identification of bone fragments is what they do… it’s what they live for.  Small samples are probably not unique to them, but Kevin was being put on the spot, so I was not surprised that the bones miraculously had shrunk between the time he waived them around at Occupy to the time they arrived at the Smithsonian (bones shrink over time and distance don’t you know!)

That was back in August, but the issue of the bones had been rolling around in my brain (and others like Greg Renouf who first wrote an article about the bones) so, I took the opportunity to bring it up again in last weekends chat room. I asked about the Smithsonian and the bone results, while Marcia Lane relayed messages from the chat-room to Kevin, Russ, Carol, Lori and Bill (Annett).  Kevin, in a dismissive and annoyed tone, said that he’d already addressed the issue and restated that it was one bone he was waiving around at Occupy (video has him holding two) and it was this bone he sent to the Smithsonian for analysis.  That analysis, Lori stated, was “inconclusive” and was given over the phone according to Kevin.  Carol piped up and called such questions “chasing red-herrings” and distracting people away from the primary purpose of Kevin’s work which was to proceed with the Tribunal.

In Kevin’s ‘Open-Letter’ to APTN, he states further:

On the basis of his remark, I subsequently showed that bone on a youtube broadcast and a Toronto TV program, and repeated Olson’s words: that it was “probably human”, but we weren’t sure yet.

The bones were then sent off to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington for analysis. Their chief forensic specialist took three weeks to examine them and then told me on the phone,

“They could be human but I think they’re animal. I’ll need more samples to be sure.”

Frankly, his ambiguous comments seemed strange to me, and I believe he was influenced to say what he did and to be vague. It wouldn’t be the first time a government scientist has responded thus when faced with the remains of possibly murdered Indian kids.

It was at this point that I decided to draft a letter to the Smithsonian Institute and to the Chief Forensic Anthropologist, Kevin mentioned later in his show.  I did a little digging and found Dr. Owsley’s contact info and drafted the following e-mail. Below that is the reply I received today:
From: Heather Martin [martinhea39@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2012 8:17 AM
To: Owsley, Douglas
Subject: Forensic Evidence of Bones Excavated at Brantford, Ontario Residential School

Dear Dr. Owsley,

My name is Heather and I am an independent journalist looking into the allegations surrounding a set of bones excavated at the Residential School located in Brantford, Ontario – commonly known as the “Mush-Hole”.  This site and the controversy surrounding it goes back to October of last year when an individual named Kevin Annett, who had formed an agreement with the Mohawk Elders to help them identify the location of mass grave sites, began excavations there.  What ensued was a series of claims made my Mr. Annett that these were the bones of children who had died at the school and that these bones were from a young child, possibly 2-4 years old.  Several different sizes and kinds of bones were shown in various Youtube videos produced by Mr. Annett and his supporters along with the claim that these were children’s bones and that the anthropologist who was at the site at the time of the discovery determined they were 100% human.  Since that October the people of Six Nations territories have bee waiting on Mr. Annett to produce the forensic evidence to support those claims, to which he has replied that they were being looked at by experts in Washington State.  As of September this year Mr. Annett has stated (and again as recently as this past Saturday), that the bones were sent to the Smithsonian Institute and examined by the “Chief Forensic Anthropologist” there and found to be “inconclusive”.  He states that the report was given to him verbally over the phone and that he found this odd but I note he does not state he made a request for a written report.  He explains the fact that the results came back this way because the Smithsonian is a government paid agency, and that Dr.’s and Professors are not to be trusted.  I disagree, and have decided to investigate this matter personally so as to put a year of waiting finally to rest.
I can appreciate that your time is very valuable, but let me assure you that this issue has caused great pain and division amongst the survivors of the Residential Schools and similar schools in Canada and the U.S. and that this is a man who is profiting greatly from this pain.

I would be most appreciative for any help you or your colleagues might be able to give me in this matter.

Sincerely,
Heather Martin
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
306-xxx-xxxx

“We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology”
— Carl Sagan

Begin forwarded message:

From: “Owsley, Douglas” <OWSLEYD@si.edu>
Date: October 19, 2012 2:15:33 PM CDT (CA)
To: Heather Martin <martinhea39@gmail.com>

Subject: RE: Forensic Evidence of Bones Excavated at Brantford, Ontario Residential School

Dear Heather,
My office has not received any remains from Mr. Arnette [sic] for analysis. Smithsonian work in forensic anthropology is extensive and through the channels of federal or state agencies (law enforcement, medical examiners). I know that Kari and I have not worked with Mr. Arnette[sic], and have not spoken to him about the analysis of remains that have been recovered. I have copied Drs. Ubelaker and Hunt so that they are aware of your inquiry. I highly doubt that they have any knowledge of this situation. Written reports on our examinations are always completed.

Sincerely,

Douglas Owsley

Note: The number to reach the Smithsonian is: 202-633-1000.

As far as Forensic Anthropologists go, Dr. Owsley would be THE MAN to tackle this task…. I present his biography below:

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History News
Media only: Michele Urie  (202) 633-2950          February 2009
 
Biography
Dr. Douglas Owsley
 
Dr. Doug Owsley received his Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of
Wyoming in 1973 and his PhD in Physical Anthropology from the University of Tennessee in 1978. In
1987, Dr. Owsley joined the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History as a curator, and has
served since 1990 as the Division Head for Physical Anthropology.
Dr. Owsley is engaged in forensic anthropology case work, assisting state and federal law
enforcement agencies. Cases have included Jeffrey Dahmer’s first victim, recovery and identification of
Waco Branch Davidian compound members, the 9-11 Pentagon Plane crash, and exhumation and
identification of war dead from the former Yugoslavia.
His bioarchaeological and osteological research concerns include:  ancient American skeletons
like Kennewick Man and the peopling of the New World; demography and health of 17th-century
colonists; Civil War military remains including the crew of the H.L. Hunley submarine; iron coffin
burials; and analyses of activity patterns, health and diseases of American Indian populations from the
Plains and Southwest.
His current research is focused on human skeletal remains from the 17th-century Chesapeake
region of Virginia and Maryland. The results of this research will be presented to the public in an exhibition at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History entitled “Written in Bone: Forensic Files of
the 17th-Century Chesapeake.” Dr. Owsley is co-curator of the exhibition which opens February 7,
2009, and continues through February 6, 2011.     

# # #
 
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION  MRC 135  PO Box 37012  Washington  DC 20013-7012  Telephone 202.633.2950  Fax 202.786.2982

I am not surprised to discover that they’ve never heard of Kevin Annett… let alone look at his bones.  I know him to be a liar and a con-man, and now I have the proof.  Kevin will try to convince you, after this gets back to him and his gate-keepers, that the Smithsonian is colluding with the enemy (it’s all a big conspiracy Kevin!lol)… but I implore you to use your rational judgement.  The only logical conclusion you, dear reader, can come to is:

!!KEVIN HAS NO CHILDREN’S BONES – HIS TRIBUNAL IS A FRAUD!!

!!!YOU HAVE BEEN CONNED!!!!!