ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A diplomatic push for the return of Native American ceremonial objects from auction houses in Paris has been hampered by loopholes in U.S. laws that authorities and lawmakers say prohibit the trafficking of the federally protected items domestically but don’t explicitly ban dealers from exporting them to foreign markets.
The comments from U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, both New Mexico Democrats, came Tuesday before a hearing in Albuquerque, where tribal leaders and representatives of several federal agencies testified that a growing international market for ceremonial objects has made it difficult for tribes to track and repatriate stolen items.
“They are not pieces of art. They are spiritual objects deeply important for tribal identity,” Udall said. “Theft not only robs the tribes of a sacred object, it robs them of a piece of their spiritual identity.”
French officials have told the Obama administration that they often are unable to intervene in numerous auction house sales of the items at the request of the United States because American laws fall short of making it a crime to send the objects overseas, the senators said.
Udall and Heinrich are co-sponsors of legislation that would prohibit dealers from exporting federally protected tribal items.
