"The Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s aboriginal territory spanned nearly 4 million acres across the region. For thousands of years, our ancestors before us centered their lives on Lake Coeur d’Alene and its tributaries, leaving evidence of their lives in the region. Our tribe works hard to preserve our cultural resources and we are very concerned by those in our community who use metal detectors to search for and potentially remove historic artifacts from the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

We know there are many in our community who do not understand the damage that is done when an artifact is removed. Furthermore, we know many people may be unaware that it is illegal, so we’d like to take this opportunity to correct the misinformation that is out there.

Removing artifacts from public lands throughout Idaho, including the shores and bottom of Lake Coeur d’Alene, is illegal, thanks to a number of tribal, state and federal laws that prohibit the removal of historic artifacts from public lands."

Get the Story:
Chief Allan: Leave artifacts where they lie (The Spokesman Review 2/9)

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Chief Allan: Removal of artifacts harms Coeur d'Alene Tribe (1/25)