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Four Corners Antiquities Trafficker Sentenced

August 9, 2011

You know the story: Feds expend vast resources on “Native American artifact ring bust,” then have to justify the expense and deaths by overcharging everyone that got caught with an arrowhead. Tad Kreth is the most recent defendant in the Four Corners case to get caught (this time with a sandal). He was charged with […]

Wampanoag File Suit to Stop Wind Farm in Nantucket Sound

July 13, 2011

The Wampanoag tribe has finally delivered on their long threatened lawsuit against the Department of the Interior, in an attempt to stop construction of Cape Wind in Nantucket Sound. The Wampanoag filed a complaint in the US District Court on July 6, alleging that construction of the 130-turbine offshore wind farm would be in violation […]

Four Corners Widow (Rightly) Sues Feds

June 3, 2011

The widow of Dr. James Redd of Utah, who was arrested and interrogated after federal agents raided his home , has filed a civil suit against the federal government for “rebuk[ing], harass[ing], and terrify[ing]” Dr. Redd to the point where he committed suicide. This excellent synopsis of the complaint reveals details of the story that […]

The Four Corners Sideshow

May 1, 2011

Federal prosecutors have entered into deals in three more of the Four Corners antiquities trafficking cases. For Meredith Smith, they’ll drop the charges if she doesn’t get charged with any other crimes in the next six months. Tad Kreth had his charges reduced from 17 counts to 1, and the prosecutors will recommend probation. And […]

The Intersection Between Native American Law and Intellectual Property

January 5, 2011

Robert J. Miller of Lewis & Clark Law School has written a timely and informative piece, American Indian and Tribal Intellectual Property Rights, published in the Tulane Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property. It’s refreshingly concise, and covers: The Indian Arts & Crafts Act (1935), Protection of tribal names (i.e., Crazy Horse), and Use of […]

Stolen Native American Knife Sheath Recovered by Wisconsin Historical Society

December 7, 2010

From my new hometown of Madison, the Wisconsin State Journal reports on Native American artifact theft and repatriation: A Native American artifact stolen in the 1990s by a disgraced Wisconsin Historical Society museum curator has wended its way back to the institution’s collection, nurturing a faint but persistent hope that other stolen artifacts might follow. […]

Peru Mounts Campaign against Yale to Reclaim Artifacts

November 8, 2010

In recent weeks, Peru has stepped up its efforts to reclaim Peruvian artifacts from Yale. We’ve discussed the controversy on the Cultural Property & Archaeology Law Blog here and here, but the New York Times has provided this excellent summary: Peru has argued that the items were only lent to the university and should have […]

Repatriation of Aboriginal Remains and Artifacts in Canada

September 13, 2010

Last week I saw this Vancouver Sun article — Cultural treasures will be repatriated to B.C. first nation — reporting on 300 Nisga artifacts (including masks, headdresses, rattles, blankets, and a totem pole) which will be returned to the B.C. tribe in a ceremony on September 15th. Maybe it’s the lawyer in me, but I […]

Fancy That, We’ve Got Alternative Energy!

April 30, 2010

Taking a cue from, well, the rest of the world, the Department of State has approved the U.S.’s very first off shore wind farm. But it hasn’t occurred without controversy, which CPAL has reported on here, here, and here, because of the indigenous rights affected. The New York Times reports: Friends and foes have squared […]

Aquinnah Threaten Lawsuit Over Cape Wind

April 28, 2010

The Aquinnah Tribe has indicated that it is prepared to litigate if the Department of the Interior approves the Cape Wind offshore wind farm proposal. The Wampanoag have a ceremonial interest in the rising sun over Nantucket Sound, which the wind farm would interfere with. The wind farm would cover 25 square miles of water […]