Plunder of the ancients : a true story of betrayal, redemption, and an undercover quest to recover sacred Native American artifacts

247 Pages·2014·2.9 MB·English

by  Schroeder

P A A T
LUNDER OF THE NCIENTS RUE
S B , R ,
TORY OF ETRAYAL EDEMPTION AND
U Q R
AN NDERCOVER UEST TO ECOVER
S N A A
ACRED ATIVE MERICAN RTIFACTS
L D S
UCINDA ELANEY CHROEDER
F B N
OREWORD BY EN IGHTHORSE
C , R US S
AMPBELL ETIRED ENATOR FROM
C M
OLORADO AND EMBER OF THE
C T
HEYENNE RIBE
LYONS PRESS
Guilford, Connecticut
Helena, Montana
An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield
An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield
Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Copyright © 2014 by Lucinda Delaney Schroeder
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
ISBN 978-0-7627-9633-5 (hardcover) eISBN 978-1-4930-1544-3 (eBook)
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard
for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
In memory of National Park Service special agent Susan Morton (05/14/52–
03/18/10), whose dedication to the preservation of Native American culture
was a gift to all
While pursuing monsters, be wary of not becoming the monster you wish
to slay.
—W M S ,
ISDOM OF ONSTER LAYER
N
AN ANCIENT AVAJO DEITY
C
ONTENTS
Copyright
Foreword
Introduction

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Fourty-Four

Epilogue
Photographs
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Author
F
OREWORD

During my tenure in the United States Congress, I supported the passage of a
federal law titled The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
(NAGPRA). The purpose of NAGPRA is to address the rights of lineal
descendants of Native American tribes to their sacred items, objects of cultural
patrimony, and human remains.
During the 1970s the FBI and the National Park Service developed evidence
that Native American artifacts of cultural significance were being commercially
exploited. Collectors and museum curators from the United States and all over
the world had created a lucrative market for items of cultural significance to
Native Americans. The trafficking of these items resulted in tribes being robbed
of many of their precious artifacts, used in ceremonies that served to enrich the
spiritual lives of Native Americans. Sadly, such thefts contributed to the
abandonment of a number of ceremonial rites that had been conducted for
centuries.
Plunder of the Ancients is a true account of how an undercover sting operation
was conducted by three federal agencies to enforce the provisions of NAGPRA.
During this investigation criminals were caught working underground trafficking
in nearly one million dollars’ worth of Native American artifacts. Readers will
become acutely aware of the detrimental spiritual impact on Native American
tribes, but will also rejoice in the repatriation of artifacts critical to expressing
their ancient and sacred spiritual beliefs.
—Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Ben Nighthorse Campbell represented Colorado’s 3rd District in the US House
of Representatives from 1987 to 1993 and served the state as a US senator from
1993 to 2005. He is currently a member of the Council of Chiefs for the
Northern Cheyenne Tribe.