Dispute With Museum Over Terminology Keeps Apache Objects in Limbo

Dozens of artifacts that the American Museum of Natural History agreed four years ago to return to Apache tribes have not yet gone back due to a dispute over the objects’ formal description, writes The New York Times.

The 77 artifacts, among them headpieces, bows and arrows, medicine rings, and satchels containing crystals and charms, are termed “cultural items” by the New York museum. The Apaches want them designated as “sacred” and “items of cultural patrimony,” classifications set out in federal law to mark objects with particular religious or historical significance.

Tribal elders say the items are imbued with deities of their religion and the museum’s terminology insults the Apaches and their faith. Federal officials who oversee the 1990 statute on repatriation of Native American objects said the institution is following the letter of the law but that in practice museums almost always use the specified legal terms.