[MSN] Tribe wants to end antiques roadshow

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

 Tribe wants to end antiques roadshow 

By Larry Rand
Record Gazette 

 
 
A robber using heavy equipment has stolen a bedrock mortar artifact of the
Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and the tribe has filed a federal
complaint.

“Morongo will no longer take a passive approach to thefts like these,” said
Morongo Tribal Chairman Robert Martin. “We have notified federal authorities
who are working with the reservation patrol on this case. The tribe will
pursue prosecution and the tribe is also issuing a $5,000 reward for
information leading to the conviction of the theft.”

According to a tribal press release, the robbery took place in May or June
in an area usually secured by two locked gates. Using "a skiploader, backhoe
or Bobcat," according to reservation security reports, thieves managed to
make off with a bedrock mortar stone weighing more than 500 pounds.

A bedrock mortar is a boulder that has been partially hollowed out for use
as a mortar for grinding seeds, acorns or grains. A smaller stone would be
used as the pestle. The Cahuilla, Serrano, Luiseño and other local tribes
were expert foragers who ate a wide variety of desert, chaparral and forest
plants and used others for medicine.

“The bedrock mortar boulder is part of a site that belongs to every member
of our tribe and not to any one individual," said Ernest Siva, Morongo
cultural historian. "Artifacts like these were left by our ancestors, and
they belong back in their original resting place for us, our children and
our grandchildren to enjoy.”

Theft of cultural items from an Indian reservation is a federal crime under
the Archaeological Resource Protection Act and subject to fines of
$10,000-$100,000 and federal prison sentences of one to five years. Congress
passed ARPA in 1979 because American Indian archaeological treasures were
increasingly accessible and being stolen. According to the National
Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, the Antique Tribal Art
Dealers Association and museums, theft of tribal artifacts is on the rise. 
 

Public awareness of the value of American Indian artifacts also has
increased greatly because of the popularity of "Antiques Roadshow" and other
media appraisal features publicizing the monetary value of Indian artifacts.

Two months after the bedrock mortar theft occurred, thieves took valuable
American Indian regalia from the September Thunder & Lightning Pow-wow at
Morongo, much of which has been recovered.

“We hope that whoever took the boulder will avoid prosecution and do the
right thing by returning it to tribe,” said Martin. “ In this way, we can
protect our heritage and make every effort to keep our history safe.”

Another bedrock mortar stone was moved 80 feet from the same site at the
same time in what a Morongo spokesman described as "an apparent attempt to
steal it."

Siva stressed that the motives for the theft are not a factor in the tribe's
reaction.

"Those who stole the rock may have taken it for profit or for personal use -
it doesn't matter," said Siva. "The removal means this artifact is lost
forever to the tribe."

Federal investigators are working the case, and the Morongo tribe asks that
anyone with information about the bedrock mortar call 755-5206.

http://www.recordgazette.net/articles/2006/12/07/news/17news.txt