| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Native Americans Celebrate Repatriation Of Items from Smithsonian (PIcture)
Imagine the outcry that would be heard around the world if bandits broke into the Vatican (or into Mecca, or any other modern spiritual center), stripped precious metals from every surface, raided the tombs of the saints and sold their spoils to museums and private collectors for millions. A crime of this scale seems almost unimaginable in this day and age, but for hundreds of years it was common practice for unscrupulous traders to despoil Native American villages, burial sites and ceremonial centers, selling the artifacts and amassing huge personal collections.
Smithsonian: Museum Of the American Indian (Photo: Wikipedia) 
While it’s impossible to change the past, efforts have begun in recent years to “repatriate” purloined items to their rightful owners. On June 28, the Yurok Tribe hosted a Repatriation Ceremony (called Kwom-hle’-chey-ehl, meaning “They have come back”) to celebrate the return of 128 ceremonial pieces used in the traditional Brush Dance.
“It is indescribably important that Yurok ceremonial items come back to the people and the land where they originated,” said Cultural Resource Manager Rosie Clayburn in a news release about the event. “Not only do they belong with us, but they need to participate in ceremonies, which is their intended purpose. We are all out of balance until they are all home.”
It took more than five years of negotiations with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian to secure the release of these items, which are the second “installment” of artifacts described in a 2005 claim. The first batch was repatriated in 2010, bringing back 217 artifacts used in the White Deerskin Dance and the Jump Dance. MORE
