Laws and Ethics About Collecting Native American Artifacts

Logan Rogers

Am I allowed to take any arrow heads I find?

Many people go on hikes through the woods with family or friends or stroll down the beachside of a river and like to pick up and sometimes even take cool Native American items they have found such as Paleolithic points (arrowheads), pottery, shells, and slate/granite.  However, some people may be specifically looking for things like that because they are aware of the monetary value of such items. This brings us to the laws and ethics regarding the collecting of Native American artifacts.

Paleolithic points from Redstone cultural resource management

It is evident that, with time, special artifacts increase in value as they are kept in good condition. Some people like to scavenge these artifacts from the shore line of rivers and sell genuine artifacts like this for big money. However one can’t just go around looking for artifacts on government owned lands. There are laws concerning the collection of Indian artifacts such as ARPA, NAGPRA, and the Antiquities Act of 1906.

Native American pot

 ARPA, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, is place to protect irreplaceable archaeological resources and sites on federal, public and Indian lands. This act is the most used enforcement tool by the government for those who are not legally allowed to be in the area and are trespassing on federal lands. There are two elements of a violation that must occur; the artifacts must be at least 100 years old and the act must be committed on public lands where the title is held by the US. Most violations of this act are usually just a misdemeanor, but if one is still active in the illegal activity, then they with be sentenced with an automatic felony. Most felonies will be a night in jail and usually about 180 hours of service. NAGPRA is just a little different than ARPA because it is more in depth with specific laws than ARPA is

Native American clothing artifacts

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NAGPRA, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, has three major focuses. The three major focuses are on the restitution of human remains and cultural items in museums, the restitution of newly discovered human remains and burial items, and the trafficking of human remains and sacred burial remains. NAGPRA also focuses on four areas of federal law such as, civil rights (making sure that the Native American artifacts were treated with special respect), religious freedom based on the constitutions recognition of tribal sovereignty, property law by recognizing traditional concepts of communal property, and administrative law like the Interior Department authority has power to issue regulations on areas.

Crazy Horse monument in SD

The Antiquities Act of 1906 is used to establish historic/prehistoric structures and objects of historic or scientific importance as a national monument. This means that if there is a specific area in which there are no currents Native Americans, also known as traditionalists, then that area may be declared as a national monument. Before this act, there were a lot of people looting items in these uninhabited areas. This act created the areas as federal property once declared a national monument and then all federal laws applied to this area about collecting Native American artifacts. This act stopped a lot of looting in these areas.

My sister in an Archaeology class at UAH

Not only is there a legal aspect of collecting items, there is also an ethical aspect as well. Ethics has a large role in not only the archaeological digging of the area, but it also has a large role in the creation laws. All laws have a specific reason as to why it was created. According to Mitch  “One day when I was doing my community service, I realized why I shouldn’t trespassed on to government lands to search for these Artifacts. I understood the ethics behind all of the collecting.” Mitch later stated that “it was obvious that most laws are created because we understand the ethics of what is in place and what is currently happening and it needs to be fixed.” Most laws are created because the ethics behind the situation is understood and not necessarily morally right.

There are two parts of collecting Indian Artifacts; laws and ethics. Before you pick up that cool little arrowhead or shell, ask yourself these two questions: Is it Legal? Will it take value away from this area? Next time you go out in to the woods or even the banks of the river, make sure that you take only pictures and leave only footprints. If you are an archaeologist, then check with your local archaeology group and get with them to work on sites instead of doing it illegally.

  Works Cited

Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. Boston: Beacon, 2014. Print. 

Gaffney, Dennis. "Indian Artifacts: Understanding the Law." PBS. PBS, 7 Apr. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/fts/kansascity_201307A44.html

Gaffney, Dennis. "Safely Collecting Indian Artifacts." PBS. PBS, 26 Feb. 2001. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tips/indianartifacts.html

"USDOJ: Executive Office for United States Attorneys." USDOJ: Executive Office for United States Attorneys. United States Department of Justice, Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/briefing_room/ic/artifacts.html

"Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990)." The American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.

http://americanindian.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1463103?terms=Artifacts

Native American. “Paleolithic Points.” Tennessee Valley Archaeological Research. 18 Oct. 2014

Mitchell Sohn, personal interview, 18 Oct. 2014
Crazy Horse. N.d. Crazy Horse Monument, Crazy Horse, SD. Alltrips. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.allblackhills.com/parks/crazy_horse_monument.php>

Digging Up the Past. 2014. Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville. UAH Magazine. Huntsville: Issuu, 2014. 9. Print..
http://www.uah.edu/magazine