Auction house in France won't stop sale of sacred tribal property

Thursday, May 26, 2016  

An auction house in France won't stop the sale of hundreds of tribal items despite protests from the United States.

Alain Leroy, a director at the EVE auction house in Paris, told the Associated Press that all of the items up for sale on May 30 were acquired legally. He suggested that the sales were actually helpful to tribes even though they have said otherwise.

Leroy told the AP that "the public auction process allows the different tribes to acquire their past, and that is exactly what some tribes prefer to do, seeking efficiency and discretion.”

Tribal leaders, Indian advocates, federal officials and members of Congress have called for the sales to stop. Rep. Steve Pearce (R-New Mexico) has introduced H.Con.Res.122, the PROTECT Patrimony Resolution, to condemn the "theft, illegal possession or sale, transfer, and export of tribal cultural items."

Paris auction house defends divisive sale of tribal items (The Associated Press May 25, 2018)

Cronkite News: Tribes seek return of property up for sale in France (5/25)
Tribes meet to discuss sale of ancestors and property in France (5/24)
Secretary Jewell addresses auctions of tribal property in France (12/04)
Auction house in France sells sacred tribal property for $450K (06/10)
Hopi Tribe and Acoma Pueblo seek to block sale of sacred items (06/09)
Hopi Tribe trying to stop yet another auction of sacred property (06/02)
Hopi Tribe seeks to prevent auction of sacred property in France (05/27)
Leader of Hopi Tribe sues over sales of sacred items in France (04/10)
Navajo Nation buys sacred masks from auction house in France (12/15)
Annenberg Foundation acquires sacred items for Alaska Natives (09/03)
Opinion: Auction of tribal property in France sets bad precedent (07/25)
Auction house in France goes ahead with sale of tribal property (06/30)
Sacred property being returned to tribes in Arizona after auction (02/20)