The Drouot auction house, seen here in a photo from June 2014. Photo from Facebook
The Drouot auction house in France sold 15 sacred items for $450,000 today over the objections of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. The two tribes, along with the Holocaust Art Restitution Project, asked the Conseil des Ventes, an agency that regulates auctions, to halt the sale and return their property. But it went forward anyway. “It’s legal. It’s business. What’s the problem?” said auctioneer Alain Leroy, the Associated Press reported. “The tribes are shocked, yes. But to each his own morality.” According to the AP, Drouot has raised millions of dollars with the sale of tribal property. Another auction house, known as EVE, also has sold items over tribal objections. Get the Story:
Native Americans fail to halt artefact auction in France (AFP 6/10)
Paris auction house selling Native American masks refuses to stop (AP 6/10)
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