Letter From A Concerned Citizen
Posted on 04. Aug, 2009 by Shannon Graham in Artifact Finds, Flint Artifacts
Note: The following letter was submitted by a concerned citizen who wishes to remain anonymous.
It’s 3:45 pm in the middle of December somewhere in the Western United States. I have just waded through the freezing waters of one of the many freestone creeks that empty out of this mountain range. A maze of man made canals will corral this winter’s snowmelt into an ever tightening noose and force it down stream to a distant city to be used by millions of people who share the same DNA and common ancestors as I do.
Most of these people would not take the slightest interest in what I am doing. More than a few would perhaps feel I deserved whatever it was I was going to catch hell for if I were caught. It’s risky business, because after all, it’s almost dark, the temperature has dropped to below freezing, and I’m wading across an icy, slippery creek so I won’t be seen emerging at the sandy cut in the opposite bank. It is an ugly gouge that has been exposed by hundreds of cattle. Livestock are allowed to freely roam this part of America and cross this particular creek daily.
I know from past experience that if it has rained the day before and, most importantly, if the cattle have not already crushed that which I seek, there might be treasures to be found on the other side. At the mention of treasure, most of the people in the great city downstream would perk up their ears. If they were to learn that the treasures I am seeking are Native American artifacts, I can guarantee that if given the chance, many of them would be waiting anxiously on the other side of the creek. They would hope for my safe return, and that I had managed to find an artifact undamaged by the daily migration of cattle. How wonderful it would be for them to actually hold something in their hands that was manufactured by our ancestors over 3,000 years ago! Most of you who are reading this know exactly what that feels like, and once felt, you can either let it go and walk away, or you can start on your own journey of discovery. You would want to know more about your ancestors and might even start collecting artifacts. You would want to experience that feeling of touching something made from Native Americans who have lived here for at least 12,000 years!
This particular evening, I would be able to dazzle them with the beautiful 2 1/2 inch dark obsidian Gateway point I found underneath the Cottonwood that overlooks the crossing. I would next pull out the mano that had rolled down to the streams edge, where I was lucky enough to find it before it fell in and was washed downstream to be covered by tons of water-borne silt and sand—never to be seen again.
I would be clever enough to keep my rarest find for last, because by now, I would have the un-divided attention of almost all of these people. With my heart pounding, I would pull from my inside jacket pocket an object that would make everyone gasp in amazement. Under the starlight, a 4 1/2 inch bi-pointed stone knife glitters, flaked to perfection and clear as smoky crystal! Would they believe that our ancestors made this marvel of technology from molten lava borne from the eruption of a small volcanic event just a few miles up this valley? I found this obsidian jewel poking out of the sand where it had been exposed by the rock hard hoofs of that day’s cattle commute. Even more miraculous is the fact that it has not been shattered! Everyone wants to touch this artifact made from solid rock. They don’t realize that a dark cloud of ignorance and mistrust will completely destroy this artifact without any help from the local range cattle. I keep these dark thoughts to myself. Apathy runs rampant in our world, but I want to savor the moments as the beautiful artifact is passed from hand to hand to those who want to know more.
I would be asked a myriad of questions: Who made these? How were they made? Why are they here? Why are you sneaking around like a thief? And I would have to tell them all why I have to keep my nocturnal collecting a secret. I am a ghost collector—forever haunted by the evolutionary intrigue of our Native American ancestors, but shackled by the archaic laws drafted for the benefit of a few selfish groups who managed to hoodwink the politicians; those masters of the Eggshell Dance, trying not to offend any of the many small special interest groups with deep pockets or offers of future votes. All of this blatant stripping away of our civil liberties has been done to appease the misguided distrust among our Native American brothers. We watch helplessly as many tribes continue to commit their own societal suicide, all the while abetted by the scientific community, whom they believe have their best interests at heart. Our country’s Native American history is being crushed and drowned by lease holding ranchers and long term water projects just as thoroughly as any illegal grave robber or pot digger, a noxious name that I have been branded with.
My wife and I were born in the United States, and we raised our children to be responsible adults here in this nameless town. Even though our birthright as citizens of the United States of America guarantees us and our families more freedoms than any other country in the world, a mangy range cow destined for slaughter still has more rights than I do at this moment in time and space, at this stream crossing smack dab in the middle of my home state.
You see, I am not allowed to bend down and pick up a rock that has been chipped into an amazing tool by my ancestors who lived right here on this sandy beach 3,000 years ago. Why? Because the Federal Government says I can’t. And just because I am a law abiding, tax paying citizen with the great un-luck of not having a degree in Archaeology or Anthropology, I have to obtain a permit in order to do so. Do you think that is ever going to happen to the common avocational archaeologist? When pigs fly!
The bottom line is I can not pick up these out of context artifacts and collect them—not even Native Americans can do that. Why? Because while we weren’t paying attention, a group of concerned Archaeologists, Anthropologists and Native Americans decided that the millions upon millions of artifacts already housed in public museums and universities throughout the United States were not enough—they want them all and they want to be able to stop others, like you and me, from surface collecting them on public and private property. Why? Well, the first reasons were of noble intent—to stop the pillaging and theft of gravesite artifacts by the “pot digger”, a nasty term that is being used to describe me and the thousands of other law abiding citizens who pursue avocational Native American artifact collecting. I have never found an ancient burial site. And I can think of little else as loathsome as to desecrate someone’s ancestral resting place. God help the person who has no conscience and does. Their greed and apathy has wrecked havoc and mistrust. I cannot freely share my collection and knowledge with others. I have to be careful to keep my collection out of sight and more importantly—I cannot leave a paper trail of the priceless information these artifacts contain. No one gains anything and everyone loses something.
Writer’s note: the above essay was penned from a sense of urgency and a touch of anger. You see, I envy the avocationalist who can freely surface collect artifacts. I wonder what it is like to keep a written history of your discoveries and document all the information associated with them. What a sense of accomplishment you must feel to be able to read through your field journals with artifacts in hand, comparing notes and looking for clues. You know that your efforts are helping to complete the ultimate puzzle: where did we come from? Unfortunately, there are those of us who must lurk around the fringes, sneak up on the facts, and above all else, keep our mouths shut. I haven’t been able to freely and legally surface collect a Native American artifact for almost 3 decades. What a shame! I have forgotten the thrill of finding an ancient relic without the guilt of knowing I am breaking the law! I do know what it feels like to forever look over your shoulder, and believe me, it is more than just a pain in the neck. Do not let this happen to you! Look up and take action—now! Please send in your responses and feelings about my dilemma! Weather you agree or not, any dialog is better than a crushed artifact in the sands of time. And ultimately, we all are losers in our quest for knowledge, and that is the biggest crime of all.
Thank you for your time!
A concerned citizen
P.S.—So just what is the harm in picking up a stone artifact? (A little information gathering will tell you that most surface collected artifacts are “out of context”, science speak that means they have no value other than an indicator of its existence, since it was not excavated from a documented site). After all, it is lying in plain view, vulnerable, and quite loaded with valuable information if the right human comes along and finds it. Cows don’t appreciate them, Mother Nature does her best to bury them forever, and the small window of opportunity afforded us is wasted if the artifact is not rescued. Is saving a unique human made object wrong? Yes and no. It depends on whose side you are on, your ethics, and ultimately your definition of your Constitutional rights.
The science minds will tell you it is absolutely wrong and unethical to surface collect an artifact. You can legally collect rocks, pinecones, feathers, bottles, horseshoes, railroad spikes, fossils, plants, animals, firewood, colored sand, etc., with permission or a permit from the right regulatory agency, but just try to get a permit to surface collect Native American artifacts in the western states. Of course, if you have the right college degree in Archaeology or Anthropology, or any other science loosely associated with Native American studies, you can get a permit, and can probably find a grant to pay for the cost of an excavation. Then you could dig them up, date and label them, putting them in their corresponding numbered bag. Later you can put them in a box and stack them in a storage room where they will start to gather dust.
Meanwhile, the tax paying citizens like you and me who helped fund this approved method of collection of a specific permitted excavation will anxiously wait for the required scientific document to be printed up and made available to the public in vain. Often, it never happens. The archived artifacts are forgotten, misplaced and may as well have been stomped on by a herd of cattle.
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29 Responses to “Letter From A Concerned Citizen”
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Steve
14. Nov, 2009
I agree with you. I surface hunt here in Oklahoma and I am also “breaking the law” hunting around the lakes here. There are a lot of us out there doing it . Doctors, Lawyers, even Police Officers. But when you get your everyday Joe or Jane out there they say were destroying the cultual sites. What sites? Most everything I find is washing up on the sandy shores with the waves, rain, and even the wind. They destoyed any sites when they decided to flood the river’s and creeks the Native Cultures used to follow the wild game. I myself am proud of what I find out there walking around enjoying whatever mother nature has to offer. I proudly show of what I find. Most of the time I give them to some of the kids that are there for the weekend or holiday. Telling them about these amazing people that were here so many thousands of years ago, thinking that hopefully they might get interested in finding out about how people survived back then. I too know people that are out there digging up gravesites or digging out the banks an causing erosion problems just so they can say its was a “legal find” so they could sell it on the Internet. I have never even thought about selling anything I have found. I trade, give away, donate, or display them myself. So I say that if maybe more of us would do that insteed of trying to hide what we are doing that maybe they will get it that we are actually trying to help them and educating people about our ancestors also. So good luck hunting and if in Oklahoma Email me and we can “BREAK THE LAW” together.
David
25. Jan, 2010
I do not agree that what you guys are doing is harmless. Because that is public land, those artifacts also belong to me, and to my kids. Why can’t we can find them and wonder over them and enjoy the thrill of discovery without having to steal them and possess them for ourselves?
For each piece of history that you guys remove, there is that much less that will ever be known about the people of the past that we supposedly admire. A scatter of a thousand chips of stone with a single arrowhead to tell us how old it is can provide lots of information on the stone tool technology of that time period. With the arrowhead taken away there is no way of being able to relate the site to any particular time or culture and the whole thing is forever lost.
The reason that collectors don’t ever get permits is not just because of a degree, it is because there is no guarantee that the artifacts are going to remain owned by the public or that the information will be shared with the public. Quite the opposite: collectors remove artifacts from public land and take them home to put in a shoebox, or on display in a frame, forever taken away from the public who owns the land.
Dave White
31. Jan, 2010
I have read the two comments above and stand in the middle of a mute point.
As a true Native American (1/16 Comanche).I do not have to have the Federal Gov. to set a standard of blood right or to have some tell me that looking for indian artifacts is a travesty to the historic value.The local university has documented this kitchen/ midden and has not pursued any further investigation.So as a Comanche I feel It my personal right to continue to search for the truth concerning this tribe (Tonks).The Comanche were known for many great attributes,one the ability to get into a camp of an advisary w/h out being detected.Maybe this is pride but the great Comanche were some of the last hold outs,and I will hold out on this perspective until I’m satisfied in my research of a tribe that ran to the missions for protection and blankets.I do not need a degree to understand my heritage,just the willingness.
David White
02. Feb, 2010
Sorry for the typo above,,,,Looks as if my comment tended to run-on,But my blood was ‘A” boiling when I considered how many times in history a people or culture have been hurt,hindered,and even pushed to extinction.
I was trying to explain my hunting grounds, which were shown to me by my father way back in the mid 70’s.The memories of my first find all the way to my last find. I hold most dear the memories of time spent and true friendships made.
Sad enough that these Indians that occupied this particular site were driven,manipulated,and extorted into a belief system they didn’t agree with.Should we too, allow it to happen again to a people that have already lost so much.All because of some artifacts being picked up.Well my fellow man I think that’s just a no brainer.
wesley
22. Feb, 2010
How can you relate a arrowhead to particular spot when it’s been uprooted by gophers, water ,trees , cattle are anything that can move that arrowhead from spot to spot . It could have been 3inches deep are 3 feet deep .
So to leave it there for cattle ,people ,cars are anything else to break it are push it back in the ground not to be seen forever again doesn’t make sense to me .
James Smith
22. Mar, 2010
I have sat and listened to both sides of the argument.I hunt artifacts because of a love for the indian culture and the pure joy and pride of finding something that has been lost for hundreds sometimes thousands of years.It is my oppinion that for what I have seen that in most cases nine out of ten of the artifacts I find would have been distroyed by one of many different ways.I have showed my arrowheads to hundreds of people that have since found that same love of a lost culture that I myself had found when I began hunting artifacts.Most of my finds have been on a River.They ariginated from somewhere up stream miles from where I find them.and most of them if not found by someone looking for them would be lost forever.If everyone had a pastime as inocent as hunting arrowheads it would be a much safer, happier world to live in.
Sincerely an Okie.
Ernie
22. May, 2010
The U.S. gov’t (elected citizens) is doing the same thing to the people they are ELECTED to serve for almost the life of this Country; a VERY few actually believe in their duty.
Native Americans have been driven, cheated, lied to and removed from land they have resided on form thousands of years, basically since they helped the First White and Black Americans learn to survive here. You will notice I didn’t say owned in the statement above! All people in this Country reside here; we do not own i; we however are given the priviledge and respondibilty to utilize it. We are given a piece of paper saying we have the right to reside; remember the U.S. Gov’t also gave the Native Americans the same piece of paper.
I’m not a Native American and my forefathers immigrated to this land as ALL have; including the Native Americans, they were just the first.
They used techologies as they learned them and very, very many of them are still in use today. To those who say that Native American artifacts belong to the public I say NO!
I also believe whomsoever might find one has the right of finder, keepers. The arguement here is ” that if I didn’t find it you can’t have it”, period! The reasoning to leave it for my descendents is let them see the artifacts; were it $100.00 bills laying on the ground would the reasoning be not to pick it up but leave it for my kids, grandkids or for the policitians??????
You bet!!!!!! I hunt fot Native American artifacts and I very much enjoy the find when I do find one.
I believe that GOD CREATED this world and also that I am one of HIS creations.
Providing he allows this world to survive many more thousands of years there will be those hunting for items I’ve used in my lifetime. Do those items belong to the public or to them who find the item??????
Again understand I surface hunt and also if these items are not recovered when found, most likely they will be buried or destroyed, so which is best; utilize or lose????
ROGER GRIFFEY
25. May, 2010
I LIVE IN FLORIDA AND ENJOY THE POINTS WE HAVE BEEN SO PRIVLEGDE TO COLLECT….. I HAVE SEEN MANY SIGHTS DESTOYED BY DEVELOPMENT….I HAVE FOUND HUNDREDS OF POINTS JUST GROWING UP HERE. ALOT OF THEM FROM SURFACE HUNTING JOB SIGHTS OR DEVELOPMENT….I STILL DONT GET ALL THE FUSS ABOUT PICKING A POINT UP…ITS NOT AGIANST THE LAW TO SURFACE HUNT….YET…..BUT I FEEL THE PRESURE GROWING BECUASE THE POLICE OR GAME WARDEN ALWAYS HAVE TO ASK ME WHAT IM DOING……AND THEY ALL KNOW ME BY MY FIRST NAME AND ALREADY KNOW WHAT IM DOING ANYWAYS….. SOME OFFICERS THINK ITS A COOL HOBBY ….SOME THINK IM A COMMON CRIMINAL SO WHAT GIVES I SAY……. IN THE END WE ARE ALL ANCESTORS OF STONE!!!!
Timber Wraith
04. Jun, 2010
I have quite a substantial artifact collection that my dad and i have found over the years, The places where we found them no longer exist. Mountain top removal coal mining takes the entire mountain top (artifacts included) and dumps it in the nearest valley, covering another pre-historic site. Urban sprawl and new motels and highways to accomodate the throngs of tourists has taken care of the rest.. One day i will pass them to my daughter and who knows she may donate them to a local museum. Anyway the only folks i hear complain about me pickin up arrowheads wouldn’t be caught dead in the terrain i love, or maybe they would alot of cliffs and timber rattlers around here and if you were not raised here you probably need a park ranger with their short pants and tall socks to lead you around. Ha Ha.
Anonymous
25. Aug, 2010
Freedom….I have heard this word but can’t figure out what it means…can anyone help me? God help us all…..
Anonymous
17. Sep, 2010
“if you were not raised here you probably need a park ranger with their short pants and tall socks to lead you around. Ha Ha”
^^Hillarious.
bart kling
25. Sep, 2010
surface hunting is not a crime us title 16 says so
PAUL STEWART
01. Oct, 2010
I HAVE HUNTED ARROWHEADS SINCE I WAS A KID LIVING IN IDAHO. JUST WANTED TO CLEAR UP A WORD THAT HAS BOTHERED ME FOR SEVERAL YEARS. THE WORDS PUBLIC LANDS! THEIR IS NO SUCH THING! WE HAVE FEDERAL LAND, STATE LAND, PRIVATE LAND, ETC. THE WORD PUBLIC LAND WAS STARTED BY ENVIROMENTALS TO STOP ALL OF US FROM DOING WHAT WE ENJOY DOING IN THE OUTDOORS. LIKE HUNTING ARROWHEADS. ETC. THEY WANT ALL THINGS TO RETURN NATURE. THEIR GOD! THANK YOU, PAUL STEWART, VALDOSTA, GA.
bushman
09. Oct, 2010
RIGHT ON PAUL&Bart! The law is if its on top off the ground(on state land held in trust by the BLM)ITS YOURS.Its the only good thing pres Carter did for us.
lilly
01. Dec, 2010
I creek hunt and field hunt on land owned by the farmers around me , with their permission. There are even mounds that are on private property that I have been given permission to surface hunt. I do not believe in digging in the mounds, we should always be respectful to the dead. To bad the people that make our hobby illegal don’t have the same respect. My husband if full blood Pomo and tells me every surfice artifact I find is a gift from its maker because they know I cherishs them no matter how broken they are, to bad the so called professionals can’t say the same.
Park Ranger
23. Jan, 2011
I am a Park Ranger who has been hunting for arrowheads on and off all of my life. Recently, while working on a rails to trails clean-up program I found an old white easter basket just on the other side of a fence that someone had pitched over containing a number of indian arrowhwads and tools. I have no idea why they would do such a thing, however I planned on cleaning them up and maybe making a dispay case for them after having someone possibly authenticate them. I took the find up to the ranger station to show my friends my find and my boss confiscated the whole lot from me. Is this a finders keepers issue? I would really like to have them back after allowing whomever he mentioned taking them to examine them.
Riverhawk
18. Feb, 2011
I’ve read with interest what persons perceive as ‘illegal’ hunting of artifacts on federal land. We had always understood from the actual law that is still on the books and unamended that states we can surface hunt points. Surface hunting means the point can be obtained by picking or pulling without any digging or dirt removal required to retrieve the point. I’ve found many points on creek banks and fields that just lay there, in wide open space for anyone to see. It is LEGAL to surface hunt on Federal land, PERIOD. However, there are those who seek to circumvent the law in order to win prosecution for those who surface hunt on Federal property. Furthermore, there are those who dig up Federal property in order to retrieve points that otherwise would not have been obtained unless they did so. These are the ones that need to be stopped and prosecuted. I have some friends who swear they’ll fight it if they are ever arrested for surface hunting because the law is VERY clear that prohibition of removal of Native American artifacts from public land does not apply to surface hunting. The law is on page 7 on this PDF document I’m attaching of the actual US Code that deals with this. Read and decide for yourself.
http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/FHPL_ArchRsrcsProt.pdf
http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/FHPL_ArchRsrcsProt.pdf
Anonymous
28. Feb, 2011
I live in NE Oklahoma and hunt arrowheads almost every weekend. On several occassions the County Game Warden has approached me and asked if i had any luck yet! He also hunts in his spare time. We both think that if we didn’t find the arrowheads we have, who would? Would they be lost forever? Broken someday? That piece of history gone forever! At least we look at our finds as, just downright awe inspiring beauty, to think that thousands of years ago this is how civilization survived, making tools, points, knives. To find one is such an incredible experience and i will always feel that way, no matter how many i find. So to say we are doing an injustice to the american culture, or history, or that we are doing something wrong is the most ridiculous crap i have ever heard of. Get a life you IDIOTS!
Jim hautman
19. Apr, 2011
I was bowhunting in Montana last year for elk and grouse and lost several arrows and my knife. If anyone finds them this year, or 13,000 years from now you are welcome to them.
Jim hautman
19. Apr, 2011
I was bowhunting in Montana last year for elk and grouse and lost several arrows and my knife. If anyone finds them this year, or 13,000 years from now you are welcome to them.
mark
05. May, 2011
Park ranger i love you! David you are a idiot!!! if you think that every artifact that is collected by the officials will ever be seen by you, you,re kids, grandkids, and their grandkids , and so on . You are what i call a brainwashed american. Get you,re head out of you,re arss. The federal gov,t has over 148 million give or take artifacts , not to mention the skeletons. we live in a country drowning in corruption. Did you read about the blm archeaologist dan amick? You will have a chicago change of attitude. When the president compares geronimo to bin laden i am sick of the crap that this goverment has done to all native americans. i would say that all native americans who fought our military were hero,s in my book..they were defending what was theirs. my great grandma was born on the rez. I collect and study artifacts. I have a pomo friend who told me that if you find a arrowhead that you have A good heart. I had a medicine man say that everytime that a flake was knocked off a point that it was prayer for the animal that they would hunt!! put that in you,re book. brainwashed.
Anonymous
06. May, 2011
I greatly enjoyed viewing all the different perspectives… The one commonality being, that we all have a love for north america’s early history, and the remains there of… I was born and raised in Ohio, and now since 2006 lived in NW Tennessee. As a youth, history never interested me. I would hear story’s from grandparents on both my father and mother’s sides, about our early native ancestors. Honestly, I never thought much of it, only that I had Choctaw and Cherokee blood. One day, shortly after moving here, I happened to be at a friends house, when her husband came home from a hunt. He showed his treasures to me. It was then, as I held a serrated Kirk in my hand, at that very moment, I found a interest in history, that developed to all american history. All because a “law breaker” as we are labeled, educated me on these beautiful peices of history. Since then, Id like to add, a good friend of his, was burried alive, while digging in a cave, rich in abundance of gorgets, bone needles and fine points….In amazement and full of curiosity, I have ever since searched for peices of the past. I’m not by any means great at it, but I’ve gotten lucky a few times. If the local cemetary where grandmother was burried, called to inform you that 5 graves, including your grandmother’s, where unearthed by looters in search of jewelry, I am certain, that it would not sit well with any of us! Therefor, I would never disturb earth or burial to get one, I only enjoy finding the ones that want to be found. When I hold one in my hand, I often wonder, ‘was this used to provide food for a family’ ‘was this a weapon in a great battle’ ‘was this lost’ ‘was it damaged and discarded’ ‘was it deemed not good enough and replaced’ ‘was this a gift from a father to a son, or a cheif to a warrior’ etc…. Who really knows? Many questions like this, have been answered through study and comparison with passed down stories, tales and records. We now know differences between points, blades, spear tips and their uses, places they where likely to live, crafts they spent time and effort to make, how they where able to live and survive while conserving every natural resource, waisting nothing and giving back to the earth that provided everything they needed. I remain in amazement, at how, in that time, they had everything they needed, without the simplest of our forms of modern technology. They lived harmoniously happy with nature…. These evidential conclusions and findings, where done through the time well spent, of our archeologist’s and paleontologist’s. Not everything known of these people would have come about through you or I. Although some of them are NOT doing the right thing, I will always wonder what new discoveries they will make next… Anyone with a true interest in these artifacts, should be just as eager for future educational findings, wether it be from you, he, him or I. If you know where to look, they are plentiful enough for avid hunter, park rangers boss, ancestral heritage protector and the science guy. The only injustices being done, are 1. people disturbing burials 2. Letting peices of the past wash away, and or be destroyed….I have read the USC attachment from above and it is somewhat confusing. It pretty much states A. You must have a permit. B. Anyone can apply for a permit. C. Only those qualified to conduct the excavation (scientist), will be granted a permit. D. Penalties E. One brief sentence, excluding all those penalties from surface hunting. F. Definitions of land. G. Something about various agencies and the T.V.A….. Which, brings on my confusion…. The local wildlife refuge/T.V.A owns much of my area, and the brochure plainly states ” no hunting of any artifacts including but not limited to surface hunting of Indian artifacts”…. Is the last paragraph giving TVA authority to govern it’s owned land?… I am thankful, that I live in the great city of Indian mound, and at least have the security of my own back yard!
rick ash
14. Jun, 2011
to david white 1/16 comanche is not worth mentioning. i am full blood comanche and i surface hunt everywhere and its my culture but its illegal but i still do it. thanks mr. true native,your just a white
Gary California
08. Oct, 2011
The local Indians in So. Calif. had a belief that when someone dies the bad parts or bad spirits of their character moved into their material posessions and would haunt and bring bad luck to any future owner of these posessions. To set this free this bad mojo spirit the artifact had to be ritually broken or ” killed “. This seems to have been a widely held view among native americans and goes a long way toward explaining the aversion to artifact collection many tribes have. In California virtually ALL FORMS of field archaeology have been outlawed by casino indian lobbyist. The same tribes ironically actually admit that 95% of what they know about their own history and past culture came from the study of historians and archaeologists of european descent . I made my living in construction and could regale you with hours of horror stories of crimes against history I witnessed comitted following california state laws enforced by approved paid tribal site monitors on construction projects. I can get really angry and depressed over the destruction of precolumbian artifactual treasures I’ve seen destroyed before my own eyes. I am extremely aware of the horrific treatment native americans recieved by european invaders but surely currant policy is not the answer.
casey ward
14. Oct, 2011
By leaving these artifacts on the ground you are leaving them to degrade or decay away. if we don’t take them they will be lost forever and by passing them down to our children we are passing on history. our goventment should not be the only ones to allow and delligate who can collect and pass on historical knowledge and artifacts. they will choose wich parts to leave out and our history will be lost. i have collected artifacts from far west texas such as sandal and woven baskets wich would have surley decayed and been lost forever but now will live on.and you people saying why shouldn’t your kids be able to see the artifacts that have been taken. sounds like you are a little jealous and are not speaking for the right reasons.
Anonymous
16. Oct, 2011
I surface hunt for arrowheads here in Idaho and have found many great peices. I have even found areas that contained large amounts of artifacts that I was told were not used in that area. I tried to relay information about my finds to those who do the documenting but I usually am met with little or no interest from those doing research. There book was completed or their interest was now elsewhere. Once as a child growing up on the Oregon coast I found a few small stone tools in my yard near the beach. I told the museum curator and he wasn’t interested. Now 30 years later a few items like those I collected (not as nice) were found and the whole town is in an uproar. I contacted the team doing the 3 block long excavation and research and they didn’t want to see the pieces because they said they were not artifacts or of any value because my finding them didn’t bring them any fame or notoriety. My feelings are as follows. Keep those items in your own shoe box. Dont let some body take them from you to hide in their own shoe box.
DM
18. Oct, 2011
I am sorry to tell you that there are many more reasons than you stated as to why this is now illegal. One of most concern to me, an anthropology/archaeology student, is the removal of said artifacts may hinder anyone from finding a possibly significant breakthrough. By picking artifacts off of the surface you are taking away the evidence that I am looking for while surveying an area of interest. The breakthrough discovery I am looking for may lie just a few inches under my feet, but because there are no surface indicators I never can find it. The reason there are no surface indicators is because someone has looted them off to hide in their closets. If you really care about finding the secrets of where we came from, then you should try to work jointly with someone who does possess a degree. I know that it sucks to see them collected and cataloged by people such as myself, but if we are ever to piece this together we need to pool our evidence, not divide it into countless private collections. I am not accusing you of being a “grave-robber” when I say this, but many priceless discoveries have been lost to “grave-robbers” and if we have to make laws against people looting these treasures to stop them I accept that. I also grew up in Idaho, and I know many uneducated people who would loot a grave and not even know they did. They are so obsessed with finding a point that they don’t stop to look and think about the site they are destroying. These same people are the reason why we have so many road/trail restrictions because they will drive their 4×4’s and ATV’s off-road or on muddy roads destroying not just artifacts, but habitat, roads, watersheds, and sagebrush steppe. I’m sorry that we aren’t all intelligent enough to respect the land, but that is the fact of the matter. Until people take the responsibility that is theirs to be good stewards of the land then I think these laws are more than fair. AND WHEN I SAY PEOPLE NEED TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE LAND THAT MEANS EVERYONE AND UNTIL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US UNDERSTANDS THEN KEEP THE LAWS IN PLACE AND ADD A FEW MORE!!!
DM #2
21. Oct, 2011
DM, you have several good points……oh wait, no you don’t because I picked them up in the Arco desert today. But seriously, do you think I am deft enough to think all you arch students use on potential sites is your eyes? I have seen machines in operation on the INL that see INTO the ground. They must use these machines each time someone wants to drill a core sample. The machine can graphically identify any type of artifact, burial site, stone tools ect ect, and it does an amazing job. You know who else uses these? Surprise, archeoligists do.
Don’t tell me that by removing a surface point I have erased a major find for you. Just charge up and go buddy. Another bizzare fact is that I am also untrained in archeology but I found 4 obsidian points today by using my better judgement, like, oh, here’s a windbreak next to the river. I would chip obsidian here if I was an indian. Sure enough, obsidian chips and a surface point. This is why we have this anger towards you people. You think that a degree makes you smart, when all it really does is dumb down your people skills. Oh and by the way, I left the points where they were but I got 8 badass photos of them and I’m going to hang them up in my office. The main reason being, my shoebox is already filled with images of idiots. Do you want them for your study?
Ibmloa
30. Oct, 2011
How is it that the Federal Government buried countless Native American treasures during the creation of Lake Powell yet it is considered criminal to collect pot shards, arrowheads and stone flakes when hiking along the cow trails in the remote areas of BLM land in Utah? If anyone has actually taken the time to venture into the very remote areas of Utah, which are ranged by cattle not penetrated by roads, far from any towns or pavement and seen for themselves the extensive amount of artifacts scattered about the ground this entire argument is mute. I picked up pocket-fulls of artifacts only to admire them around the campfire then place them back on the ground. I actually got tired of bending over to pick up the next interesting pot shard. What I did find breathtaking and ultimately saddening was climbing up rock walls to enter corn caches and residences (which appeared to be recently vacated) knowing this would never be saved, never given the respect it deserves.