Here.
Hopi Tribe Sues in France to Stop Auction of Sacred Masks
Here.
Paris Auction
NPR on Hopi Sacred Objects Returning Home
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.
Sacred Object Returned to Hopi after “Shameful” Paris Auction
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.
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