But not much for the Globe or you because I don't want to do this anymore. Sorry.
"US seeks to delay Hopi mask sale
PARIS — The American Embassy in Paris has asked a French auction house to delay the planned sale of sacred objects from two Native American tribes. Saturday’s request came a day after a French judge ruled that the sale of 32 Hopi masks can go ahead starting Monday. The Hopi tribe opposes the use as commercial art of sacred masks that represent their ancestor’s spirits (AP)."
Also see: I Hopi This Post Makes You Happy
"Lawyers bring fresh lawsuit on sale of Hopi masks" by Thomas Adamson | Associated Press, December 04, 2013
PARIS — The Native American Hopi tribe took a Paris auction house to court Tuesday to try to block the upcoming sale of 32 sacred tribal masks, arguing they are ‘‘bitterly opposed’’ to the use as merchandise of sacred objects that represent their ancestral spirits.
The Katsinam masks are scheduled for sale at the Drouot auction house on Dec. 9 and 11, alongside an altar from the Zuni tribe and other Native American frescoes and dolls.
Advocates for the Hopis argue that selling the sacred Katsinam masks as commercial art is illegal because the masks are like tombs and represent their ancestors’ spirits.
In April, a Paris court ruled that such sales are legal in France, and Drouot sold off around 70 Hopi masks despite vocal protests and criticism from actor Robert Redford and the US government. The United States, unlike France, possesses laws that robustly protect indigenous peoples.
Tribal lawyers filed a new lawsuit over the new sale, and a Paris court held a hearing in the case Tuesday. The judge will issue a verdict Friday, three days before the first sale.
The Hopis’ French lawyer argues that an existing French law that prevents the sale of tombs, and gives these objects a special, protected status.
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Related:
"A French auction house that ignored a plea by the U.S. Embassy to delay an auction of sacred Hopi masks sold them briskly Monday along with other contested Native American artifacts for $1.6 million. As protesters stood outside the Drouot auction house with banners reading ‘‘Sacred Masks, Sacrilegious Sale,’’ some 25 vividly colored Kachina masks went under the hammer inside."
More:
"A U.S. charitable foundation said Wednesday that it was the anonymous bidder that paid $530,000 for 24 Native American masks in a contested Paris auction two days ago, and will return them to the Hopi and the San Carlos Apache tribes.
‘‘These are not trophies to have on one’s mantel,’’ said Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, director of the Los Angeles-based Annenberg Foundation, which revealed itself to be the secret caller that triggered a bidding war in Monday’s highly publicized auction.
It was a happy ending, at least in one chapter in the Hopi tribe’s battle to regain its tribal patrimony....
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No disrespect or offense to Hopis, but since the issue effects me in no way and seems to be a concern of the elite paper and other types, I don't really give a shit what happens. I have other things of far more importance that impact my life, a whole long list of them before the disposition of the Hopi masks at auction where only the elite can afford to buy as they play their money games.
Maybe if the Globe were to talk about the Holocaust of the Native Americans and their sophisticated cultures I might take an interest. I guess there is no Hopi for me.
