The genetic results from the Anzick genome would establish that the child was an ancestor not of some separate, vanished people but of the Native American peoples who continue to live in the Americas today.

This connection is not merely abstract or statistical — it means that Native communities have genuine ancestral relationships to Clovis people and legitimate interests in how their ancestors’ remains are treated.

Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), passed in 1990, federal agencies and federally funded institutions are required to consult with Native American tribes and repatriate human remains and cultural items to affiliated tribes upon request.

The Anzick remains had a complex history with respect to NAGPRA — the site was on private land, and the remains had been in the custody of various parties over the decades since the discovery.