Tuesday, 31 May 2016

America, Implement the Convention Properly


It's up to US politicians to
implement suitable laws
The auction is over (Allison Meier, 'Despite Protests, Paris Auction of Sacred Native American Objects Goes Ahead' Hyperallergic May 31st, 2016)
Despite calls for a halt from US government officials and tribal leaders, EVE (Estimations Ventes aux Enchères) auction house went forward yesterday at Drouot Richelieu in Paris with a sale that included contested indigenous sacred objects and human remains [...] an Acoma shield was removed from the auction after reports that it may have been acquired illegally in the 1970s. [...] contested human remains objects, including a  mummified Nazca foot and a Peruvian shrunken head, were skipped in the auction, although their status is not clear as of now. [...] Monday’s auction is only the latest in a series of disputed sales at EVE involving indigenous sacred objects, going back to 2013.
Maybe now the finger-wagging from the Americans who can't be bothered to implement the 1970 UNESCO Convention will be over for another year. A year in which one trusts the same people will be making concerted efforts to pass laws to implement it, no? Action, not words is what is needed, the USA needs to act to protect the cultural patrimony of its citizens.

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