In Wake of Suicide, Utah Senators Hatch, Bennett Call for Federal Investigation

TELLURIDE – Expressing concern at reports that federal officers perhaps used excessive force in arresting suspects in southeast Utah for the alleged theft of Indian artifacts, Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett have asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate last week’s raid on a consortium of excavators, dealers and collectors of archaeological artifacts stolen from public or Indian lands in the Four Corners region, the culmination of a years-long investigation.

Physician James Redd, M.D., 60, who along with his wife, Jeanne, was among the 24 people indicted in the theft and sale of American Indian artifacts, committed suicide on Thursday, June 11, one day after the indictments were announced. Redd was buried Tuesday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Stake center in Blanding, Utah.

“While I understand that federal officers obtained the necessary search and arrest warrants,” Hatch said of the arrests, “I have reservations about how they executed those warrants. The perception in the community is that more than 100 federal agents armed with assault weapons jumped out of black Suburbans and manhandled the accused unnecessarily. If that is true, I question the appropriateness of such an extreme show of force, especially given the nonviolent nature of the offenses.”

An atlatl weight, a turkey feather and yucca fiber blanket and a digging stick were all among items purchased on Dec. 11, 2007, by someone trusted by the large, close-knit network of excavators, dealers, and collectors of archaeological artifacts stolen from public or Indian lands in the Four Corners region.

Unbeknownst to the seller of those stolen items that day, David A. Lacy, 55, of Blanding, Utah, the purchaser, who is referred to in a search warrant affidavit only as “the source,” was aiding the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Land Management to gather evidence in the nation’s largest investigation of thefts of archaeological and cultural artifacts.

In most cases the source wore a hidden audio and video recorder to document the transactions while federal agents listened in via a real time transmitter also worn by the source, according to the affidavit.

That transaction, and others like it with different dealers over a two-year period, together gathered 256 artifacts valued at $335,685 and led to the unsealing of 12 indictments against 24 people on Wednesday accused of violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

ARPA prohibits the unauthorized excavation and removal of archaeological resources on federal lands as well as the unlawful sale, purchase, or exchange of such resources. Under NAGPRA, any Native American human remains, funerary objects, objects of cultural patrimony and sacred objects must be repatriated to Indian tribes.

Decorated Anasazi pottery, an assortment of burial and ceremonial masks, a buffalo headdress, and ancient sandals known to be associated with Native American burials were among the plundered artifacts.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the indictments, which were returned by a grand jury in Utah and charged defendants in Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado, during a press conference in Salt Lake City, also on Wednesday.

“Let this case serve notice to anyone who is considering breaking these laws and trampling our nation’s cultural heritage that the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of Justice, and the federal government will track you down and bring you to justice,” stated Salazar in a press release.

“As these alleged criminals are prosecuted and as federal agents continue to hunt down wrong doers, BLM cultural resources staff will work to ensure the proper recovery, identification, repatriation, and storage of the artifacts that have been confiscated.”

Deputy Attorney General Ogden announced at the same press conference that the Justice Department plans to step up its enforcement of laws designed to safeguard the cultural heritage of Native Americans by recommitting resources and focus to criminal justice in Indian Country.

The FBI and the Bureau of Land Management jointly initiated the investigation in November 2006 the affidavit stated.

In March 2007 the source agreed to work with the FBI and the BLM to purchase the artifacts and secretly record the transactions.

According to the affidavit, those who deal in stolen artifacts such as these are usually careful to disguise the site of origin, which is usually done by identifying it as leased or private property.

Objects are typically sold with a letter of provenance that usually lists the name of the person who found the artifact, the location where it was found, and assurance that it was not found on public or Indian lands.

For most of the transactions related to the investigation, the source provided Lacy and other dealers with a blank letter of provenance that they then filled out with false information.

The defendants came mostly from Blanding, although some live in Monticello and Moab, Utah, and in Durango.

Navajo Nation Council Rep. Mark Maryboy told a reporter that Redd was helping him draft legislation to improve American Indian health.

“I just feel like he should have called me and talked to me about it,” said Maryboy, a longtime friend of the Redd family. “It's just very unfortunate.”