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- “When these objects have been created for ceremonies within our community, a spirit goes into them,” Bradley Marshall, of the Hoopa Valley Tribal council of California, told a press conference on Tuesday. “When we create the objects, we’re in prayer, we’re breathing life into the object. And so these objects are not just a mere object in some fancy collection. These objects are living beings to us. These objects are part of our family; these objects are part of who we are as a people; these objects have a sacred purpose within our community.
At the auction coming up on Monday is one of these objects. We’re hopeful that somehow, some day, that member of our community, that member of our family, will be able to return home to us and continue its lifespan within our community. The auctions that take place around the world are deplorable. It harkens to me of the slave auctions that took place so long ago that we thought they were past.”