Kennewick Man became the subject of a controversial nine-year court case between the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), scientists, and Native American tribes who claimed ownership of the remains. Under NAGPRA, the tribes had the right to rebury the remains of Kennewick Man and to refuse scientific study of the man they referred to as "the Ancient One". The US Army Corps of Engineers, which oversaw the land where the remains were found, initially agreed with the requests of the tribes. Before the transfer could be made, Owsley, along with seven other anthropologists including Smithsonian colleague Dennis Stanford, filed a lawsuit asserting the scientific right to study the skeleton.