Fallout from Utah artifacts raid continues Blog Post

When the FBI raided Blanding, UT this summer to seize a trove of Indian artifacts collected by local residents, it set off a chain of events of mythic proportion. Indeed, the sting operation that uncovered the black market for stolen antiquities was called “Cerberus Action” after the multi-headed dog in Greek Mythology that stood guard over the underworld, according to Helen O’neill of the Associated Press.

The raid pit ancient traditions against cultural norms, best friends against each other, the local law against federal, grave robbers against legitimate antiquities traders.  It resulted in deaths, and ruined lives, lost fortunes and sacred relics reclaimed.

O’neill takes a thoughtful, thorough look at all sides in this drama, which is still unfolding.

New artifacts cache found in New Mexico Blog Post

Here’s a refreshing change of pace in a story about Native American artifacts -it contains no mention of FBI raids, no tales of death and greed and criminal charges, no insinuations about the dark side of the antiquities trade.

This one involves a road crew doing excavations in advance of putting in sewer lines along a road in Santa Fe County. According to a story by Phaedra Haywood of the New Mexican, the workers re-discovered the site of an ancient village containing thousands of artifacts, including pottery shards, beads, tools and clay effigies. So what did they do? Squirrel them into “private collections?” Sell them on e-Bay? Slip them to auction houses where European collectors pay good money to own a piece of the Americas?

Nope. They marked down their locations. Archived them with the Museum of New Mexico Laboratory of Anthropology. Excavated a few for display at the Agua Fria village community center. And left the rest undisturbed for future study.  They also informed the Santa Fe County Public Works department so the work plans could be arranged to minimize further disturbances.

We’re digging that.

Whistleblower in trafficking case threatened Blog Post

The undercover operative who helped unravel the massive illegal artifact trafficking case in Blanding, Utah, was threatened with a baseball bat for his role as a whistleblower in the case.

The man now charged with threatening the whistleblower told federal agents, he “wanted to hurt him real bad,” according to Christopher Smart of the Salt Lake Tribune. Charles Denton Armstrong, now charged with felony retaliation, made the threat after one of the other trafficking suspects in the case committed suicide. Multiple arrests related to the theft and illegal trade of Native American antiquities enraged many in the town.