An auction of sacred Native American artifacts scheduled for Friday in Paris is stirring up controversy on both sides of the Atlantic
" 鈥� some more than 100 years old 鈥� will go on the block at the Neret-Minet Tessier & Sarrou auction house, which estimates the sale will bring in about $1 million, according to .
But members of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona say the pieces should not be sold and instead should be returned to Hopi villages. They've asked U.S. officials to intervene.
Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma, director of the in Kykotsmovi, Ariz., told The Times: "Sacred items like this should not have a commercial value. The bottom line is we believe they were taken illegally."
Tribal members say the sacred objects are not "masks" and that outsiders who photograph, collect or sell them are committing sacrilege, according to the Times. It adds:
"The Hopis, who number about 18,000 in northeast Arizona, regard the objects in the Paris sale, , or 'friends,' as imbued with divine spirits. ...
"The brightly colored visages and headdresses, often adorned with horsehair, sheepskin, feathers and maize, are thought to embody the spirits of warriors, animals, messengers, fire, rain and clouds, among other things. They are used today, as in the past, in many Hopi rites, like coming-of-age ceremonies and harvest rituals."
The owner of the items slated for auction hasn't been publicly identified, but the auctioneers say the pieces were legally obtained by a French collector over more than 30 years while living in the U.S.
Last week, Philip J. Breeden, cultural affairs minister for the U.S. Embassy in Paris, wrote to the Neret-Minet auction house . "Given the ancestry of these masks and the distance between Paris and the Hopi reservation, requesting a delay seems reasonable to allow for a complete examination of the situation," he wrote, according to the Times.
On Tuesday, the advocacy group Survival International to try and stop the sale. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday to determine whether the sale can proceed.
will have more on this story later today.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDIxMDkyNjUxMDE0NDY1Njg1NzRiOTRiYQ000))
