Having become aware of the Hopi and Navajo requests, and understanding the distinction between art and spiritual items, I attended the "Fine American Indian Art" auction at Sotheby's on May 21, 1991 and purchased Ahola, Koyemsi, and Yeibeche to return them to the Hopi and Navajo Nations. As the successful bidder state and federal law recognized me as their "rightful owner," but I was, in my mind, the conduit for their return home.
That event was the beginning of my sincere commitment to the repatriation of ceremonial American Indian ritual items. At the time I was unaware that my action would be a catalyst for change.
THE FOUNDATION
On May 22, 1992, the New York Times headlined the article: "Buyer Vows to Return Masks to Indians," [3] where I explained the distinction between art and sacred objects needed by a living culture and should neither be bought nor sold. The New York Times article went out over AP wires and dozens of newspapers across the country ran the story. I received scores of letters and faxes of support and gratitude from Native and non-Native people, alike. An opportunity was at hand for an intercultural partnership to address the art market's exploitation of Native Peoples.
The support and enthusiasm of those who contacted me indicates peoples' eagerness to participate in the righting of wrongs. NAGPRA had set standards in the public sector and provided the framework for a sea change in the private sector.
The American Indian Ritual Object Repatriation Foundation began its work as a not-for-profit organization in 1992 and received its Absolute Charter from the State of New York Regents on November 5, 1999.
The Repatriation Foundation has assisted as a conduit and a facilitator in the return of scores of ceremonial items and grave goods from the private sector to nations, clans, societies, and individual leaders for fifteen years. When our work began, NAGPRA was in its infancy and museums needed assistance in contacting tribes. In 1996, the Repatriation Foundation published Mending the Circle, A Repatriation Resource Guide, the definitive source on NAGPRA, including repatriation policies of the National Museum of the American Indian, and the National Museum of Natural History, essays by Native American museum professionals provide insight into museum practices, and strategies for the retrieval of sacred material from the private sector.
