The Hopi Tribe of Arizona was in court in France today in hopes of stopping the auction of its sacred property.

The Drouot auction house plans to sell 32 Kachina masks next week. A judge promised to issue a decision on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

"The Hopis have been massacred, slaughtered, pillaged and for years deprived of what was theirs, and at some point this has to change," attorney Pierre Servan-Schreiber said in court, the AP reported.

The tribe unsuccessfully tried to stop the same auction house from selling sacred items earlier this year. The dispute drew international attention.

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Lawyers bring fresh lawsuit on sale of Hopi masks (AP 12/3)