From: Debbie Reese <dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:55:06 -0500

Right now (April 12, 2013) in France, religious items with significance to several tribes in the Southwest are being auctioned as art. The tribe asked the auction house not to go forward. The US Embassy asked the auction house to, at the very least, wait, until the provenance of the items could be determined.

The items aren't art. They're religious artifacts.

Thinking about them makes me think of children's art activity books that include activities like making Native masks.

The auction and news coverage provides us with the chance to think about what is, and what is not, art.

Debbie

(my post about it: hers-native-masks-are-not-art.html)


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Debbie Reese, PhD Tribally enrolled: Nambe Pueblo

Email: dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com

Website: American Indians in Children's Literature _at_ http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.net

Now: Studying for MLIS at San Jose State University Then: Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies, University of Illinois
Received on Fri 12 Apr 2013 09:55:06 AM CDT