Here.
An excerpt:
Back in April I reported on a Paris auction house that sold 70 Hopi sacred items. The tribe asked the sale be halted saying the items were stolen and belonged on its reservation in northern Arizona. The Hopi religion is shrouded in secrecy, so the tribe was in a bind. Tribal leaders wanted the media’s help to bring attention to the sale, but they didn’t want to talk about what those items were.
One of the attorneys who tried unsuccessfully to stop the Paris auction purchased one of the sacred objects and has returned it to the tribe. Excerpt from the article:
M. Servan-Schreiber then bought one katsina at the auction to return it to the Hopi. He said, ‘It is my way of telling the Hopi that we only lost a battle and not the war. I am convinced that in the future, those who believe that not everything should be up for sale will prevail. In the meantime, the Hopi will not have lost everything since two of these sacred objects* have been saved from being sold.’
According to notes at the bottom of the article, another item was purchased by a family with the intent to return it to the tribe by the end of the year.
Article here.
Previous coverage of the attempts to stop the Paris Auction here.
Here, from Slate’s history vault.
Here:
An excerpt:
But a new dialogue may be in the wind. On February 15, Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly spoke fresh words at the opening of an impressive justice center in Tuba City: “We’re ready to have a federal court. We’re ready for a federal judge here.” Federal judges in native America handling federal cases would help. Sure, new statutes would require enactment. Empaneling juries would present challenges. But until Indian nations acquire full criminal jurisdiction for offenses occurring within their boundaries, improved justice for native victims will require expanded federal efforts.
Here.
An excerpt:
The Néret-Minet auction house in Paris says that its sale, on April 12, will be one of the largest auctions of Hopi artifacts ever, and it estimates that it will bring in $1 million. Many of the objects are more than 100 years old and carry estimates of $10,000 to $35,000. The auction house says that among the spirits represented are the Crow Mother, the Little Fire God and the Mud Head Clown.
“Sacred items like this should not have a commercial value,” said Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma, director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office in Kykotsmovi, Ariz. “The bottom line is we believe they were taken illegally.”
Here.
Here. Via the excellent North Dakota Supreme Court site.
An excerpt:
The Hopi of northern Arizona were among the first in the nation to increase criminal sentences under the law. The tribe spent 18 months updating criminal codes to create a new class of felonies that could result in more jail time for convicted offenders.
Few tribes have put together all the pieces required to boost jail time, but progress is being made on other fronts. The Southern Utes in Colorado are now contracting with the federal government to hold detainees. On South Dakota’s Rosebud Sioux reservation, tribal officials worked with the U.S. attorney’s office to create a diversion program to keep juveniles out of trouble.
In Montana, special teams made up of tribal and federal officials were established last summer to investigate sexual assault cases.
Turtle Talk 
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