Native American archaeological sites are often looted by criminal enterprises that wish to make money off of the unique artifacts discovered at sites. In addition, the artifacts are often made out of precious materials which can add significantly to the value of an item.
Some individuals loot Native American archaeological sites simply because they are fascinated by the culture and history of Native Americans. In those cases, looters are simply stealing artifacts for themselves without the added incentive of financial gain. No matter what the motive, the results are the same.
Key points on culture and history of an entire people are lost. Those artifacts may never be returned to the rightful owners, which means that some questions about their history remain unanswered. It takes just one artifact to explain details such as manufacturing during a specific time period. Each and every artifact at Native American archaeological sites is vital to the culture and people.
One of the most common looted items at Native American archaeological sites is pots. Native Americans are famous for their beautiful, detailed and innovative pottery. One artifact can result in a financial windfall for the person that loots the object due to a high demand for such artifacts. Yet, one cannot be charged with looting if they are on private land which they own, or land which they have permission to explore.
On some Native American land, owners have allowed individuals to explore and dig. In those cases, the individual would likely split any financial gain with the property owner. However, Native American culture is rich in historical significance to the people and to other citizens of the United States. For that reason, the Government has enacted certain laws meant to protect archaeologically sites from looting.
In 1990, the NAGPRA, or Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, was enacted in order to prevent individuals from looting graves, which is a common practice. Many times, individuals were buried with treasures which were representative of their personality.
Those artifacts are often valuable due to historical significance or the actual monetary value of items such as precious metals. People have been working hard to educate the public about the sacred sites to help avoid further looting.
Looting of Native American archaeological sites will continue to be a problem due to the financial benefits available to individuals that make off with artifacts. There are vast amounts of land which contain valuable and historical artifacts. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to protect all sites from looting and vandalism.
Luckily, newer laws allow for harsher punishments for those found guilty of looting Native American archaeological sites. Those laws, combined with education campaigns, will hopefully prevent some individuals form taking part in looting. When the public begins to realize the historical significance of artifacts, they will be more likely to participate in protecting the sites from looters.
