Comments about ‘Deals considered as attorneys focus on 'Source' in artifacts case’

At least half a dozen of the 26 people accused of looting government-protected lands for Native American artifacts may have resolutions to their cases in coming months, attorneys said in federal court Thursday.

Only 26 people since the 1940's, I thought it would be more.

Those are dated back over 100 years old or more.
Native American Art very sentimental fragile archives >Handle with much care<

As two people have committed Suicide rather then spending time behind the gray walls of prisonXjail.

The artifacts are so old, that there is no connection to the modern day Indian.....The bloodline from the people that made the artifacts no longer exists......The Feds just wants control, did you notice that they say it is wrong to possess them but then they quickly grab them up through the courts, many of the artifacts being found on private land and would never have seen the light of day if it hadn't been for these collectors.....This is a sad situation alright, sad we have a Gov. with such powers.................

Its a shame why you want to
steal these.Thiers a law to just Leave them alone.

Let's go to Plymouth Rock or Palmyra and dig up some white bones and antiques. That's the mindset of these grave robbers. The two who suicided deserved their demise--it's 1/1,000,000 percent of payback. Besides, the spirits of these items will continue "haunting" the violators. That's why they suicided. All of them should follow suit. These people hate natives, but steal their culture, because they don't have a culture. They're just plain white bread--bland. This type of "sting" happens all the time-check with police departments all over the country. They're looters, plain and simple.

they ended thier life.As they were facing heavy fines on the stealing the artifacts.

Say all you want but these are not cases of people out wandering, finding some pieces, and bringing them home. These are cases where people knowingly searched for items that they could take and sell. What a shame to treat antiquities like pieces of meat or disposable income.

Any source is biased when they get paid to do something! For example when you read about pharmaceutical studies, find out first who paid for the study. If it's a drug company wanting to make their drug sell, it's probably biased. And then find out what kind of a study it was. The only reliable study is a double blind study. That's where the testors and the guinea pigs don't know what they're testing for. Now if I went out and paid for a cancer study, I have no vested interest except that my sister-in-law died of it, my brother-in-laws mother died of it, my parents stake president died of it, my parents 4 year old neighbor died of it, my grands died of it, my friends little brother died of it. My neighbor has it, my husbands nephew has it and the list goes on. Now that would be a study. I have nothing vested in it except curing the beast. The case is the same with this situation. "The source" has a vested interest in stirring up dust for someone, $200,000 vested in it. That is biased.

Many of the people indicted in this are good people who would have never sold their artifacts if it wasn't for the extreme amounts of money they were offered, over and over again. One of the men accused had a collection of arrow heads passed down from his grandfather and when he was first approached to sell it he refused. He was then approached again and again with more amounts of money until he gave in and sold the family heirloom. The only reason he sold it is because he needed to pay his wife's medical bills, and the price offered to him got so high it was impossible to turn down. He wasn't even the one who found the artifact. It was his grandfather. Many of these people are good people who found things on private property and were offered such extravagant prices for these things, it seemed justifiable to sell them. Selling them was wrong, but tricking them into selling them is even worse. You don't first make criminals then punish them.

Your comment about plain white bread was telling. It showed your racial bias loud and clear. Racism is racism no matter who spouts it. To equate people's skin color with a type of bread is a bigoted remark. As far as the haunting thing - I'm not too worried. The "haunting" hasn't seemed to do too much so far. Maybe a little less superstition and a little more rational thought would serve you well.

Local Indians regularly sold artifacts for years, not until white lawyers told them they should consider these things sacred was that idea adopted. Bodies were buried in the trash heap, where the ground was softer. Old people were taken out in the trees and left to die, as were babies with birth defects or twins which were believed to be evil. It is true that these ancient artifacts were left by completely different people than the tribes that live in the area today. My point is, There is nothing sacred about these artifacts except to the people who lovingly rescued them from the elements, studied and respected them for their local historic value. The knowledge passed down for generations in San Juan County families about these ancient people and how they lived is the real treasure and the government has terrifyed them into destroying and hiding their documented research. What a terrible waste!

They should be placed someplace
else so no one else can touch these Old Arts

They are great source
to have been kept for science study in the schools.
Its Those that steal from the parks,canyons of Utah Who are paying the Price there worth loads of money.

Much encounter to these ancient history of Utah pass

I grew up in SJ county. I now look back and laugh at all of those that take pride in the fact that they have a certain "local" family name or that they are a 5th generation person. Anywhere else you earn it on your own.

Whose stealing History? the bureau of land management cant account for 40% of its artifacts according to a recent internal review. Many of the nations greatest archaeological treasures are repatriated to tribes that cant prove a direct link to the ancients. Even if they could which is dubious at best would we return the Declaration of Independance to to the founders ancestors? OF COURSE NOT! ITS PREPOSTEROUS but thats exactly whats happening under NAGPRA. a law thats up there with the worst pieces of legislation ever passed!

Its impossible to know when your within the laws as the tribes are consulted as to what is legal and whats not....is there any doubt where there biases lay?

Salvage archaeology excavate ruins for roadways in arizona and when finished they dig a hole-replace place the pots in that hole and run over it with a bulldozer and continue on with the road!

If one pot is sacred they must all be considered sacred! The feds are destroying pots by not documenting and loosing them, the tribes are repatriating them and destroying them, and salvage archaeologists legally crush pots with backhows. The government are the greatest theives of time!