Hollie Terry
US History
B-block
Native American
Artifacts
Artifacts,
they are valuable and desired objects that some people are willing to do the
unthinkable to attain. They don’t observe the fact that to the people that the
objects belonged to and their families the objects that they are taking are not
artifacts they are family history, they have a deeper story, and are held to be
sacred. This is why it was necessary for the government to place laws in effect
that dealt with grave robbing and the selling of Native American artifacts. Not
everyone has proper ethics that would keep them from grave robbing in the first
place but most people do generally try to maintain the law. The government had
to put laws into effect to protect the history that was being destroyed and the
families whose loved ones belongings were being taken by unethical people.
Ethics, they define what is right
and what is wrong. They are what trigger ones conscious, which makes one want
to make good choices and turn their backs on what defies the ethics that they
hold themselves to. But what happens if someone does not have ethics or does
not have the right ones? This is the case when someone robs a Native American
grave. The motives for committing this crime vary. Some people know the value
of what the graves contain and let their selfish nature take over and decide to
overlook the fact that they are destroying the grave of a human being in order
to gain money. Others do not see any harm in grave robbing other than the fact
that it is against the law, because it is a tradition that has been passed down
for generations. They do not realize that when they disturb the grave that they
are also disturbing the spiritual link that the Indians believe in, not to
mention the fact that they are also destroying the history behind the person
and the burial rituals. They see every item in the grave as just an object
instead of thinking about the deeper meaning behind it.
Throughout the years laws have been
put into place in order to try and force people to restrain from stealing
artifacts from Native Americans graves if it is not already in their ethics to
do so. These laws classify Native American crime to be the theft, vandalism,
and trafficking of restricted artifacts. The first set of laws were passed in
1906, 1966,1979, and 1992, these laws stated that it was illegal for people to
take Native American artifacts from federal land. These laws were then followed
by NAGPRA and ARPA which deal with the fact that the artifacts that are found
within a state on federal land are the states responsibility. Controversy has
risen debating whether or not the laws are strictly enforced. If they are
enforced though, one could be fined thousands of dollars and even sent to jail.
A danger for prospective buyers of the artifacts is that even if they were
unaware of the fact that the artifact was illegally obtained and sold the
government can still reclaim it without any financial retribution. One example
of this was when a Sioux beaded and quilled hide shirt was brought to an
auction house and set to sell at $150,000-$200,000. Before the auction was able
to occur, the shirt was pulled in response to an attorney, representing a
family on the Rosebud reservation, claiming that the shirt belonged to Little
Thunder. When a photo of Little Thunder wearing the jacket surfaced the seller
was unable to disprove its legitimacy and the item was taken and returned to
the family. Now whether the seller knew that the item was illegal to be sold is
unclear, If he wasn’t then he is just another case of a person who got taken
and lost their money and the item. This is why when artifacts are being sold at
auctions, online or live, they come with disclaimers such as to call the tribe
to check and see if the claims made by the seller are true, always get a letter
of certification, and to check with a local museum or reputable dealer before
purchasing any items.
Although
the laws are still not perfect they are a good start to trying protect Native American artifacts from
unethical people. Native American artifacts are a risky item to buy and sell.
It is not always easy to tell what is legal and what is not. This is why it is always
advised to make sure that you get a letter of certification and check with a
professional before buying any items.
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Anasazi pot with a kill hole.   
Collecting Native American Artifacts
I used this as a starting point for my research. I also found the picture of a nasazi pot with a kill hole.
I used this site to find information about the ethics and morals of keeping and selling artifacts.
I used this site to learn about the laws that have been put into place to protect the artifacts.
I used this to understand how the rules are put into place
I used this site to find the photo of Little Thunder wearing the jacket
I used this to see what a source that is selling artifacts uses as a disclaimer
I used this site to find a picture of ethics
I used this site to find a picture of people illegally excavating Native American graves
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