Hopi Tribe won't bid on cultural objects on auction in France

Wednesday, April 3, 2013  

The Hopi Tribe of Arizona says its culture isn't for sale.

The tribe is asking an auction house in France to suspend a sale of 70 cultural items that's due to take place next week. Most of the objects have been labeled as Hopi but others have been identified as property of Zuni Pueblo and other Pueblo tribes in New Mexico.

“Culturally we made it clear that there’s no price tag on our ceremonial and religious objects,” Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, the director of the Hopi Tribe’s cultural preservation office, told the Associated Press. “That’s pretty much out of the question.”

The Museum of Northern Arizona and the Heard Museum are also calling for a halt to the auction.

Get the Story:
Arizona tribe seeks to block upcoming sale of ceremonial artifacts at Paris auction house (AP 4/3)
French plan to auction Hopi masks stirs furor (The Arizona Republic 4/3)

Hopi Tribe seeks to block auction of cultural items in France (4/2)
Jim Enote: Buyer beware as auction house offers 'Zuni' masks (3/14)