Néret-Minet Tessier & Sarrou, a Parisian auction house that I’m sure perceives itself as catering to only the “best people,” is about to auction off cultural patrimony looted from the Hopi Nation. Auctioneer Gilles Néret-Minet dismissed Hopi claims because “they rely on an article of the Hopi constitution which is not recognized in France because it is not a State." While the indecency of this sale is recognized by many less sophisticated than French art dealers, I am personally inflamed by the swell-headed arrogance of not recognizing the Hopi Nation combined with ignorance of the scientific consensus that the Hopi have inhabited what is now the Four Corners area of the United States since 500 B.C.E. Plenty of American Indians have oral traditions that place them on their land from time immemorial, but I am talking about white people, archaeologists and historians, doing what they do by the standards of their academic trades.Get the Story:
The Indian Holocaust and the Hopi Nation (Indian Country Today 4/10) Related Stories:
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Auction house in France claims tribal items acquired legally (4/4)
Hopi Tribe won't bid on cultural objects on auction in France (4/3)
Hopi Tribe seeks to block auction of cultural items in France (4/2)
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