Video Courtesy of KSL.com
Federal agents in Salt Lake City, Utah arrested 24 people in what they're calling the largest investigation ever of stolen Native American artifacts. The defendants are accused of being part of a network that stole artifacts from public and Native American land and then sold them.
As you know - I have also been trying to speak out about the tragedy in America of selling what I refer to as "archaeological evidence" :
- Iroquoian Pottery With Faces
- Cahokia Copper Axe Stolen
- Copper Collection Leaves Many With Questions
- Ebay and Archaeology Don't Mix
- Buying and Selling Artifacts...and American Tragedy
Let's face it folks - - stealing artifacts from sites to sell is NOT COLLECTING!
According to KSL.com -
"According to court documents, an inside source working with the FBI secretly taped, with both audio and video, the alleged looters and bought, at the direction of the government, 256 artifacts worth more than $335,000.
"The illegal network is a very close knit entity," FBI Special Agent Patrick Brosnan wrote in the affidavit. "Individuals who deal in stolen archaeological objects are usually very careful to disguise the site of origin."
List of defendants:
- Loran St. Clair, 47, Monticello
- Rulon Kody Sommerville, 47, Monticello
- Kevin W. Shumway, 55, Blanding
- Sharon Evette Shumway, 41, Blanding
- David A. Lacy, 55, Blanding
- Aubry Patterson, 55, Blanding
- Dale J. Lyman, 73, Blanding
- Jeanne Redd, 59, Blanding
- James D. Redd, 60, Blanding
- Raymond J. Lyman, 70, Blanding
- Vern Crites, 74, Durango, Colo.
- Marie Crites, 68, Durango, Colo.
- Steven Shrader, Durango, Colo.
- Tammy Shumway, 39, Blanding
- Joseph Smith, 31, Blanding
- Meredith Smith, 34, Blanding
- Harold Lyman, 78, Blanding
- Reese Laws, 27, Blanding
- Nick Laws, 30, Blanding
- Brandon Laws, 38, Blanding
- Tad Kreth, 30, Blanding
- Brent Bullock, 61, Moab
- Richard Bourret
http://www.sltrib.com/justice/ci_12562006
If convicted, those indicted face one to 10 years in prison.
My husband is from Blanding and these indictments are no surprise. Many of these people are related and this behavior is generational. Everyone in town knew it was going on. Interestingly, James Redd, a very prominant long-time physician in Blanding who very much enjoyed his "stature" in the community, killed himself today over this leaving his wife to face the charges on her own.
ReplyDeleteSad but true about the suicide...
ReplyDeleteyou can read the article here:
http://http://www.sltrib.com/justice/ci_12572033
Here is another news story trying to represent both sides of the story..I really liked the archaeologists finally referring to the "artifacts" as "evidence" because I think it is obvious that people like this have for whatever reason lost the connection to the people who used them and the science concerning these objects...To them artifacts are "treasures" and I have met many people who think the same thing.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that archaeology needs to represent themselves better on TV and everywhere else as a SCIENCE - - Think about King Tut's tomb...it is all about the artifacts being moved around the world to be on display and less about King Tut and the culture and history that the artifacts represent to us...We need to sensationalize the SCIENCE more and step away from making the artifacts found look like treasures.
Anyway - - It is a HOT topic for sure, as there is over 100 comments on this article:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705310081/Residents-decry-artifact-theft-indictments.html?pg=1