• 9,500 year old skeleton found in Washington state
• early and doesn't seem to have the characteristics of most native American populations
  
• Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act--burial sites should not be disturbed, remains that have already been removed should be returned to descendants.
  
• present day tribes saw this as their ancestor being desecrated
• the skeleton was found without grave goods that would have given cultural information
  
• scientists argued that this skeleton was not an ancestor of a present day tribe
• but was that individual variation or "racial" difference?
  
• theories of settlement of the Americas
• they eventually did do a DNA test on Kennewick man and found he was more directly related to present day native Americans than any other population and his remains were returned and reburied on Feb. 18, 2017
  

a scientifically valid concept of races for humans is possible, but it wouldn't look like how we define race today

Medical uses of race:

• Ashkenazi Jews are at risk for several genetic diseases
• 1 in 3 to 5 carry the gene for one of more genetic diseases
• a large majority of African-Americans have blood pressure that is salt-sensitive (so eating a low salt diet will help control blood pressure) along with 1/3 of Caucasians
  
• therefore it is useful to know your racial heritage?
• or maybe what is most useful is your individual genetic makeup
  
• or is it better to focus on environment?
  

arguments against completely ignoring ethnic groups

• we don't want to lose diversity of culture
• different ways of thinking help us be aware of different ways of doing things
  
• different regional cultures are real
• it is natural for us to see differences
• ethnic diversity and race are somewhat different concepts, race as defined in the US being more harmful to society
• we could define biological races of humans, they just wouldn't match up with how society defines race (because gene variation would not match up very well with skin color)
  

We are gradually becoming more comfortable with the concept of mixed race
biologically, mixing races makes us a stronger species, better able to adapt
does it make sense to define someone who is 1/8 or 1/32 African American as African American?

If we can see prejudices we can change them

Farber thinks some of this is human nature:

• group loyalty
• identity and boundaries