Common Ground Common Sense > Thieves nab Native American artifacts

so angry I could spit

Dec 30 2004, 05:26 PM

Just plain wrong:

QUOTE

Thursday, December 30, 2004 Posted: 9:05 AM EST (1405 GMT)

DAGGETT, California (AP) -- Skilled burglars looted a Mojave Desert museum of its most prized possessions, including antique dolls and Native American artifacts on loan from local families.

The thieves made sure an alarm system was disabled before clearing out the glass display cases in the Daggett Museum, said curator Beryl Bell, who discovered the losses when she went to feed her goldfish on Christmas Day.

"It's really heartbreaking for a small museum," Bell said Wednesday.

Stolen Native American artifacts included a basket appraised at $3,500, a Navajo sash and two clay Acoma pots that had never been appraised but are very valuable, said Leslie Lloyd, the president of the Daggett Historical Society, which runs the museum near Barstow.

The thieves also took antique dolls, model trains and other toys, farming implements and examples of rocks from the area, Lloyd said.

She said the burglars left no fingerprints and took steps to disable the alarm system even though it wasn't operational at the time of the break-in.

"This appeared to be a very neat operation and it appeared they had a shopping list," she said.

looted museum

PaineInTheArse

Dec 30 2004, 05:53 PM

There is no honor among thieves.

shawneedaughter

Dec 30 2004, 07:47 PM

Where was Prescott?

Ironic that a culture that some in the US see as lazy and drunken would artistically have a 'cachet' for collectors. In someone's private collection, my question above still stands.

so angry I could spit

Dec 31 2004, 01:07 PM

Stupid Q, who's Prescott?

The different perspectives of Native Americans and your culture through-out the country confuses me to be honest. Yes, I understand there is a large problem with alcoholism in the Native population, that there is also a very strong biological basis that negatively impacts that tolerance to alcohol and that (I guess) people who see a lot of that (or hear a lot about it as their primary information about natives) make judgments about the population based on it. From my travels across the country, I see this view primarily in parts of the SW and a little in the Pacific NW.

The area I grew up in is rich with "Indian" names and references, but only the occassional person with "a little native blood" in them from generations ago. I guess to explain the name of our school and school district (without addressing the actual lack of Native Americans), we were given the odd wonderous story of the brave and righteous Indian. This coupled my being very young and idealistic (still too idealistic for someone as old as I am), the anti-pollution TV commercials with Iron Eyes Cody and pop-culture images of Native Americans being so in tune with animals and nature has probably had a pretty long-standing impact on me. Weren't other people impacted by that stuff too or am I actually even weirder than I think I am?

LeIbNiZ

Dec 31 2004, 01:09 PM

QUOTE(so angry I could spit @ Dec 31 2004, 03:07 PM)

Stupid Q, who's Prescott?

The different perspectives of Native Americans and your culture through-out the country confuses me to be honest. Yes, I understand there is a large problem with alcoholism in the Native population, that there is also a very strong biological basis that negatively impacts that tolerance to alcohol and that (I guess) people who see a lot of that (or hear a lot about it as their primary information about natives) make judgments about the population based on it. From my travels across the country, I see this view primarily in parts of the SW and a little in the Pacific NW.

The area I grew up in is rich with "Indian" names and references, but only the occassional person with "a little native blood" in them from generations ago. I guess to explain the name of our school and school district (without addressing the actual lack of Native Americans), we were given the odd wonderous story of the brave and righteous Indian. This coupled my being very young and idealistic (still too idealistic for someone as old as I am), the anti-pollution TV commercials with Iron Eyes Cody and pop-culture images of Native Americans being so in tune with animals and nature has probably had a pretty long-standing impact on me. Weren't other people impacted by that stuff too or am I actually even weirder than I think I am?

I'll guess at Prescott Bush, who stole Geronimos' bones for the Skull and Bones society.