Sacred artifacts returned to Northern Calif tribe

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Saturday, August 14, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO - White deerskins, condor feathers and head dresses made of bright red woodpecker scalps are among more than 200 sacred artifacts that are once again in the possession of a Northern California Indian tribe.

The Yurok Tribe celebrated the items' return this past week - among the largest repatriation of Native American sacred objects ever - from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.

"It's part of the fabric of who we are and why we are," said Javier Kinney, who helped truck the artifacts back from Suitland-Silver Hill, Md. "It's a little bit of mixed emotion - sadness that they were gone for so long but joy and excitement that they're back. It's like family coming back home."

The tribe has 5,500 members and lives on 55,000 acres along the Klamath River near the Oregon border. Its leaders say the artifacts date back hundreds and maybe even thousands of years. They will continue to be used in ceremonies intended to heal the world.

read more: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100814/APA/1008140808

listen to the story: All Things Considered (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2)

"Words can't explain how we feel and how I feel. I could say good, but it's more than good," Thomas O'Rourke, chairman of the Yurok tribe, tells NPR's Melissa Block. "Today, when I thought about it, I cried. They are key to our existence, to carrying on our traditions and our culture — dances that we have taken part in since time immemorial . . ."

photos: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129182536

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