THE GUARDIAN
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| Sacred Hopi and Acoma objects are displayed at the Drouot auction house in Paris prior to auction on Wednesday. Photograph: Jacky Naegelen/Reuters |
FRANCE---French auctioneers have sold masks and statues considered sacred by two Native American tribes, raising more than €400,000 ($450,000), despite fierce opposition from the indigenous groups. The sale of 15 artefacts marked a new defeat for the Hopi and Acoma tribes, which have been trying for two years to put an end to such transactions and demanding the pieces be handed over. Since 2013, Native American tribes, with the backing of the US embassy in Paris, have tried unsuccessfully four times to stop the sale in France of similar items. [
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