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“A Paris auction of sacred masks from the Hopi and San Carlos Apache Native American tribes fetched more than 550,000 euros Monday, defying protests from the United States and activists.
The US embassy had asked for the suspension of the sale of colourful ceremonial masks and head-dresses after the failure Friday of a legal challenge by advocacy group Survival International on behalf of Arizona’s Hopi tribe.
Some 24 “Kachina” masks — which are worn by dancers during religious ceremonies and considered living beings by the up to 18,000-strong Hopi — were sold for 520,375 euros ($714,180), said the EVE auction house that organised the auction.
Three San Carlos Apache masks were also sold for 30,000 euros.
A US embassy representative attended the auction to “show solidarity with the two tribes”.
“We remain concerned about this sale, which took place before the Hopi or Apache tribes had the time to examine the objects and their origin to see whether they could claim them,” Philip Breeden, minister counsellor for cultural affairs, told AFP.”
– Yahoo News, Tribal masks fetch 550,000 euros in controversial French sale.
“A French auction house on Monday ignored an urgent request by the U.S. Embassy to delay a sale of dozens of sacred Hopi masks and said it would put them on sale.
EVE auctioneers say the sale of 32 artifacts is legal in France and will proceed Monday. The American Indian tribes say the artifacts represent their ancestors’ spirits and are unsellable
The U.S. Embassy made a delay request on behalf of the Hopi and San Carlos Apache tribes, to allow them time to travel and identify the controversial artifacts and investigate whether they have a claim to the items under the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Both France and the U.S. are signatories to the treaty.
The auction house says it stands by French law.”
-Yahoo News, French auction house ignores US plea to delay Hopi mask sale.
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
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This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
