4,000 artifacts stored at Oregon refuge held by armed group

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

4,000 artifacts stored at Oregon refuge held by armed grou
Updated 3:46 am, Friday, January 15, 2016



Thousands of archaeological artifacts — and maps detailing where more can be found — are kept inside the national wildlife refuge buildings currently being held by an armed group of protestors angry over federal land policy.

Ryan Bundy, one of the leaders of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon, says they have no real interest in the antiquities. Still, their access to the artifacts and maps has some worried that looters could take advantage of the situation.

"There's a huge market for artifacts, especially artifacts that have provenance, where you can identify where they came from," said Carla Burnside, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's refuge archeologist.

More than 300 recorded prehistoric sites are scattered across the refuge, including burial grounds, ancient villages and petroglyphs. Some of the artifacts — including spears, stone tools, woven baskets and beads — date back 9,800 years.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/science/article/4-000-artifacts-stored-at-Oregon-refuge-held-by-6760674.php

[Ford_Prefect]

1. The Dull Tool of the oil & gas industry taunts us with his inverted version of history yet again.

Last edited Fri Jan 15, 2016, 08:24 AM - Edit history (1)

He certainly does like the spotlight when he pontificates.

I would love to see the real authors of this debacle given some publicity. They deserve public acknowledgement. Whoever does the Karl Rove number for Koch Bros. should be given screenwriter credit for this one.

[tecelote]

2. Geez...

"We also recognize that the Native Americans had the claim to the land, but they lost that claim," Bundy said. "There are things to learn from cultures of the past, but the current culture is the most important."

Mr. Bundy... Same is true for you! You lost your claim.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Bundy never had a claim. Only in his mind. nt

[Vinca]

3. Those are not insignificant artifacts, they're big ticket items that belong to this country.

How do we know they won't sell them off after they've spent all their donation money at the town bars? Enough with these people already. Get them out of there.

[Earth_First]

4. I suppose it's best that this is on record...

...however in my mind is also now that this information is out, a potential criminal liability issue has been created now that individuals know that this place is largely unoccupied during the winter months.

Antiquity theft is a very real element when dealing with archeological sites/artifacts.

It's time that this 'occupation' is put to it's end...

[handmade34]

5. "the current culture is the most important"

what a self-centered, egotistical, ignorant, disrespectful, asshole... I keep hating these people more and more as they continue to show their lack of respect for people, wildlife and the environment

[Geronimoe]

6. I'm sure the artifacts prove....

this is not Bundy's or rancher's grazing land.

[TheBlackAdder]

10. Like many invading armies, they destroy traces of the previous society they cannot co-opt.

.


Hopefully, they won't destroy them to address that problem with their cause.


.

[Botany]

8. Good God in Butter .... Bundy & Company are stupid

That is not their land and the do not get to make the rules on how to use it
and or the water resources, vegetation, wildlife, or artifacts found on around
or under it.

In the map below of BLM lands a large % of them are open to grazing @ less
then the market value.

[sybylla]

9. Again, why do these fuckfaces still have electricity?

If they had no heat, they would have been out of there after a couple of days. Instead, they are settling in.

I mean dildo entertainment aside, letting this play out is not worth it.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. The contents of the buildings include important artifacts, so bursting the pipes is a bad idea.

Many on DU are not thinking about the place as being worthy of preservation and respect from our side even if the Bundy Gang has no respect.

Yesterday yet another East Coast DUer was going on about how they occupied 'an otherwise empty cabin'. It's a complex of 12 small buildings, most of historical value themselves, some containing important and/or sacred objects. These buildings are in constant use as the Refuge is open all year.

I get that it is not MOMA, but it is a museum. As the guardians of those objects, we should make protecting them at least part of what informs our choices and priorities.

[ffr]

24. I wonder if these patriots have their flank covered.

If all these patriots weaponry is with them, what's protecting their property back home?

[Gregorian]

11. Maybe someone should call the police.

We pay them to take care of stuff like this.


I think enforcement share the militant's sentiments, and just can't bust friends. It's probably more complicated, but...

[Bluenorthwest]

13. FBI is in charge, not the local law enforcement. The only police in the county are 3 cops from

Burns PD. Burns PD is three cops. The Sheriff, who has two deputies and covers a county larger than Maryland has been the strongest voice opposing the Bundy Gang and calling for them to leave and to face charges, he has had death threats, his family has left town for their own safety.

Do you really think the FBI shares the sentiments of the Bundy Gang?

[Gregorian]

15. I was being sarcastic.

But yes, I do think enforcement has an inordinate amount of aggressive types.

[libodem]

14. But apparently that is okay

They are white guys with guns and not looting anything so leeave them be.

[yellowcanine]

16. Bundy talks out of both sides of his mouth regarding the artifacts.

Bundy said they're not interested in the artifacts and would turn them over to the Burns Paiute Tribe, if asked.
"If the Native Americans want those, then we'd be delighted to give them to them," he said.
He said he didn't think it was likely that anyone would use the maps to loot the site.
"We haven't really been thinking along those lines," Bundy said.

So - they have no interest in the artifacts and it is not likely that anyone would use the maps to loot the site but at the same time if Native Americans wanted the artifacts, he would give them to them? Exactly how do you do that without looting the site, Bundy?

[Myrina]

17. ... so when are we going to get the videos demonizing them, like everyone does ISIL,

for 'holding artifacts hostage' and (ISIL did, Bundy may or may not have) destroying them?



What is it going to take to have these knuckleheads declared terrorists?

[McKim]

18. Precious Artifacts Must Be Protected

As an Oregonian who has spent many happy Thanksgivings at the refuge, I am outraged that these criminals have access to the cultural treasures of the Norther Paiute People. Looting of artifacts is a big problem in The West. With so much wide open space it is difficult to
protect everything.

This also says a lot about US culture. We do not value Art and Culture. We have no minister of culture to speak out at times like this.
Why didn't the Northern Paiute have their own government funded museum for their artifacts and their stories? They certainly deserve it.

Hopefully these artifacts will be protected by the Bundy Bunch, and not sold to art dealers as has happened with Syrian artifacts where their cultural treasures lay in the back rooms of art dealers in The Gulf, New York and London.

I am sorry that this story was published. It could result in some looting now or in the future. How about Oregon and the Northern
Paiute getting their own museum and cultural center?

[lark]

19. This just gets more aggravating by the day.

Why is the federal government so freaking scared of gun-toting white militia males? Why are they allowed to steal/blockade public land, destroy public structures like fences and now they are being allowed to steal artifacts? OMG! Cut off all power, don't allow anyone in our out and see how long they last. If this continues, use massive amounts of tear gas and smoke them out, do something. If this was minorities or women, they'd all be dead by now. So sick of the freaking double standard.

[ffr]

23. +1

[lsewpershad]

20. Making a fool of the US govt

Not Isis, not Iran,not North Korea .... It the KKK and other white supremacist.

[olddad56]

21. Aren't these guys who have seized this refuge being rather tyrannical and abusing their power?

[ffr]

22. Land looters say they won't loot the artifacts

Yee-aaaaaaaah, right.

It puts a pit in my stomach to think of these armed criminals on my land, our land, doing with it whatever they please. I don't give two flying fcuks what RW media says, arrest these criminals and make an example of them before more public lands are held hostage or worse.

[Saviolo]

25. Grist had a good take on this:

http://grist.org/politics/armed-right-wing-militia-may-not-be-the-best-caretakers-of-native-american-artifacts/

From the article:

Since the artifacts and maps are protected by federal law, the tribe has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prosecute the armed group if anything is damaged or goes missing. We’ll see how that goes. The group is mad that they can’t do whatever they want to do on federal land … And yet, for all of 2016 so far, they’ve been able to do whatever they want on federal land.

Also, it sounds plain ridiculous to have a group of armed white people handling cultural and archeological treasures that they don’t understand. This refuge has been looted for at least the last 40 years; for the tribe to hand the occupiers an inventory of thousands of artifacts would not only take an incredible amount of time, it might help the Bundys and their allies should they decide to do any looting themselves. (They’ve already done a number on the government files they’ve gotten their hands on.)

Each time the Bundys say anything about the Native American artifacts at Malheur, they reveal new levels of ignorance — even about cattle, a subject in which they claim some expertise. Cattle only arrived in the Americas about 500 years ago, along with European colonizers, and didn’t make it to Oregon until about 1840. But Ryan Bundy told the AP that “Before white man came, so to speak, there was nothing to keep cattle from tromping on those things.”

Wow. In one brief sentence, Bundy manages to completely ignore history and offend Native Americans. He fails to acknowledge that the cattle tradition he holds so dear is only about 175 years old, while the artifacts that he calls “things” have been around for 10 millennia.