Paris auction house cancels sale of Acoma shield

The planned sale of an Acoma tribal treasure Monday was canceled after a Paris auction house withdrew the item from bidding. The EVE Auction House’s decision to cancel the sale of a shield used in Acoma religious ceremonies came after a week of intense lobbying by New Mexico’s Acoma tribe and high-level federal government officials, including Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. “It was withdrawn this morning pending further investigation,” Ann Berkley Rodgers, an Albuquerque-based attorney for the tribe, told the Journal on Monday. Rodgers said she and tribal officials were delighted to see the religious artifact pulled from the auction. But she said the battle is not over. “For Acoma, it is not going to be a victory until the shield is returned,” she said...more