The case of the auction of sacred Hopi masks in France highlights the lack of protection for indigenous peoples' culture under intellectual property law in Western countries.
The Associated Press reports that the Drouot auction house in France sold 25 sacred Hopi Kachina masks, despite protests, for $1.6 million this week. "Though a judge ruled last week that the sale of the artifacts is legal in France, the American Indian Hopi tribe says the artifacts represent their ancestors' spirits and cannot be sold as merchandise," the AP also reports. Also included in the sale was objects from the San Carlos Apache tribe and a Zuni tribe altar.
The AP decided against publishing images of the objects "because the Hopi have long kept the items out of public view and consider it sacrilegious for any images of the objects to appear."
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