Malheur update: Native artifacts impacted

In the aftermath of the militia takeover, the FBI released a statement detailing their process for checking for booby traps, investigating the crime scene, and ultimately re-opening the refuge.  Their statement addressed impacts to Native artifacts:

the FBI is deploying experts with its Art Crime Team to work on the refuge. These agents are specially-trained in cultural property investigations. They will be responsible for working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Burns Paiute Tribe to identify and document damage to the tribe’s artifacts and sacred burial grounds.

They will start with an archeological field assessment to determine any potential violations of the Native American Graves and Repatriation Protection Act (NAGPRA) and the Archeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA). This work will likely take a number of weeks to complete.

Note that, during the militia takeover, the militants rifled through Native artifacts at the refuge, claiming they were helping the Paiute.

An update on the latest findings is here:  ‘It’s So Disgusting’ Malheur Militia Dug Latrine Trenches Among Sacred Artifacts

Paiute

 

 

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About Stephen Carr Hampton

Stephen Carr Hampton is an enrolled citizen of Cherokee Nation, an avid birder since age 7, and a former resource economist for the California Department of Fish & Game, where he worked as a tribal liaison and conducted natural resource damage assessments and oversaw environmental restoration projects after oil spills. He writes most often about Native history and contemporary issues, birds, and climate change.
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