The Annenberg Foundation will return 24 sacred items to the Hopi Tribe and the San Carlos Apache Tribe after winning them in a controversial auction in France.

The foundation purchased 21 items for the Hopi Tribe and 3 items for the San Carlos Apache Tribe. The total cost was $530,000.

"This is a great day for not only the Hopi people but for the international community as a whole," Sam Tenakhongva, a Hopi cultural leader, said in a press release. "The Annenberg Foundation set an example today of how to do the right thing. Our hope is that this act sets an example for others that items of significant cultural and religious value can only be properly cared for by those vested with the proper knowledge and responsibility. They simply cannot be put up for sale."

The auction took place on Monday. The entire collection, which included other tribal artifacts, went for $1.6 million.

Get the Story:
US charity revealed as anonymous Hopi bidder (AP 12/11)
Native American masks sold in Paris to be returned to tribes (AFP 12/11)
Arizona: Auctioned Artifacts to Be Returned to Tribes (The New York Times 12/11)

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