Navajo Nation buys sacred masks from auction house in France

Monday, December 15, 2014  

The Navajo Nation acquired seven sacred masks in an auction today.

Vice President Rex Lee Jim went to France and asked the Drouot auction house to stop the sale of the items. The U.S. Embassy and Sen. John McCain(R-Arizona) also opposed the sale but it went through as planned.

“This was a very delicate mission,” Jim said this morning. “We are happy to be taking these Navajo sacred masks home to be cleansed by our Navajo medicine people, who will determine when these masks will be used in our wintertime ceremonies."

The auction house also sold items belonging to the Hopi Tribe and has been putting other sacred and ceremonial property on the market over the past year.

Get the Story:
Navajos buy back artifacts at Paris auction (AP 12/15)