Acoma shield being auctioned in Paris

By Michael Coleman / Journal Washington Bureau

Monday, May 30th, 2016 at 12:05am

WASHINGTON – Acoma Pueblo Gov. Kurt Riley was nearing the end of an impassioned, public plea to the French government last week when his emotions finally overcame him.

As the Acoma official stood in the soaring atrium of the National Museum of the American Indian at an emergency meeting last week to pressure the French government to halt the impending sale of a sacred Acoma Pueblo artifact by a French auction house, Riley began to weep.

“As you can tell, when these items leave our pueblo this is how much it hurts,” Riley said, choking back tears. “This is how much it hurts my people to see their cultural patrimony put on the internet or go up for sale.” 

http://www.abqjournal.com/782934/acoma-shield-being-auctioned-in-paris.html