Hopis Hoping to Recover Katsina Friends

Yes we can

John Christian Hopkins, 'Hopis Hoping to Recover Katsina Friends' Lake Powell Newa, June 01 2017

The Hopi Tribe is not abandoning its efforts to reclaim artifacts that the tribe insists have been stolen. The tribe is vigorously asserting its claims in the international arena – particularly in Paris, where objects considered sacred by the tribe have been auctioned off to collectors in the past. Of special concern to the Hopi Tribe are the katsina friends – painted, wooden objects symbolic of tribal deities. “We need to bring all our katsina friends home to their rightful place on the Hopi lands,” Hopi Chairman Herman Honanie said. According to Hopi tradition the katsina friends are not supposed to leave the Hopis’ ancestral lands. But the EVE auction house is planning to hold a sixth sale of tribal objects. The French auction house has more than 200 cultural items taken from Arizona, New Mexico and other states. The Hopi Tribe has been fighting to recover the sacred items since 2013.

French courts have refused to block the sales. Maybe if the US actually implemented the 1970 UNESCO Convention, instead of selectively doing so, they'd actually have a legal leg to stand on. Otherwise this is just so much whingeing, moaning and hand-wringing. It is apparently not entirely clear how these objects came top the market. The Paris auction house has insisted that all of the items sold were obtained legally.