Legislation was introduced Wednesday in the U.S. Senate that would impose stiffer penalties on those who export sacred Native American artifacts.
In the last few years hundreds of Hopi sacred itemshave been sold in French auction houses. The Hopi believe the headdresses to be living spirits. The tribe has sought the federal government’s help to return the items home to its reservation in northern Arizona.
This week Arizona Sen. John McCain and New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich introduced the Safeguard Tribal Objects Of Patrimony Act. If passed, the legislation could double jail time from five to 10 years for a second offense of trafficking these items.
While the new legislation strengthens the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and similar laws, it does not apply outside the U.S. Last year Interior Secretary Sally Jewell met with French authorities to ask for their help to identify the traffickers and repatriate the items.
