French To Sell Hundreds Of Native American Sacred Items
Several tribes have called on a Paris auction house to stop the May 30 sale of hundreds of Native American sacred items. Tribal members and federal officials held an emergency meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss what could be done.
Many tribes consider the artifacts to be living beings. A Hoopa Valley Tribal representative said at the meeting taking these ceremonial items strips their culture of who they are.
Acoma Pueblo Gov. Kurt Riley asked the French authorities to honor his people’s humanity and value their ancient traditional beliefs.
“For a person in my position to speak and express my emotion this way when these items leave our pueblo this is how much it hurts,” Riley said in tears.
Once the items leave the United States federal repatriation law is no longer valid. The Association of American Indian Affairs called for a nationwide investigation to find out how these items left tribal lands. The Interior Secretary has called on federal officials to strengthen current laws that monitor and prevent these sacred items from winding up in foreign markets.
New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce has proposed a resolution that asks the several federal agencies to work together to help tribal communities bring their sacred items home.
