"By Philip Breeden, Counsellor for Cultural Affairs and Communication, Embassy of United States in France. In April 2013, Néret-Minet auction house offered for sale a collection of native American antiques, including several dozens of Hopi Katsina dolls. Katsina, or friendly spirits, are considered sacred by the Hopi as deities by other native American tribes living in the southwestern United States. These sacred deities occupy an essential place in the religious and cultural life of the Pueblo people, whereby these objects should be able to be sold. The Hopi and their supporters, among them the Ambassador Rivkin, opposed this sale but could not prevent it. Shortly after the holding of the sale, the U.S. Embassy was contacted by the Laguna Pueblo, a native tribe of New Mexico. During the auction sale organized by Néret-Minet, they had identified and bought a sacred deity belonging to their tribe. They asked the Embassy to hold their acquisition until they can come to Paris take possession. We were honored to accede to their request. Consequently, my Office was temporarily home to a Laguna sacred deity. I followed the instructions of the Laguna with respect to testify to the sacred deities and on 22 July, a delegation led by Governor Richard Luarkie arrived in Paris to repatriate the sacred object. During their stay in Paris, Governor Luarkie and the accompanying delegation were able, with the help of the Embassy of the United States, to meet representatives of the French Government and let them share their views with respect to the sale of native American objects, in the hope that in the future such objects can be restored to them in order to regain their place in the life and culture of Amerindian.The U.S. Embassy is proud to have been able to help the Laguna Pueblo to convey their message to the France. I am personally honored to have modestly contributed to the return home of a sacred deity."
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 12:38:20 +0000
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