FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A new law increases the penalties for trafficking Native American remains and cultural objects. President Joe Biden signed the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony this month. Along with stiffer penalties, it prohibits the export of sacred Native American items from the U.S. and creates a certification process to clarify whether items were created as art. The effort largely was inspired by pueblo tribes in New Mexico and Arizona who repeatedly saw sacred objects in auction houses in France. Tribal leaders issued passionate pleas for the return of the items but were met with resistance and the reality that the U.S. had no mechanism to prevent the items from leaving the country.
David Goldman/AP
FILE - A Native American feather bonnet from 1890 made of eagle feathers, rooster hackles, wood rods, porcupine hair, wool cloth, felt, and glass beads, is displayed as part of the exhibition, "Go West! Art of the American Frontier from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West," at the High Museum of Art on Oct. 31, 2013, in Atlanta. Federal penalties have increased under a newly signed law Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, intended to protect the cultural patrimony of Native American tribes. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
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