The Acoma Shield

The Acoma Shield

This Acoma shield held a central role as a sacred object in specific ceremonial cycles until it was stolen in the 1970s from Sky City village, Pueblo of Acoma, 50 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Its theft was attributed to a break in and the shield has always been considered the communal property of Acoma Pueblo. It had been stored in the caretaker family’s three-story home with six other shields, all tended to by a traditional cultural leader who kept them in a cool, dark room on the second floor, on a wooden shelf built into an adobe wall. One day, it and five other shields had vanished.

Its whereabouts remained unknown until it surfaced in a 2016 tribal art auction by Paris auction house EVE. Acoma Pueblo Governor Brian Vallo approached the auction house in advance of the 2016 sale to negotiate its return, but was only offered a chance to bid on it himself. The estimated price was USD $40,000.

The shield was eventually pulled from auction, and the Pueblo of Acoma began a legal fight to get it back, with the assistance of the FBI’s Albuquerque office, the FBI Art Crime Team and other parties. On July 20, 2016, the United States filed a civil complaint seeking forfeiture of the shield from EVE in Paris. The lawsuit marked the first time the United States filed an action to forfeit an item of cultural patrimony from any European auction house.

The consignor, Jerold Collins of New Mexico, allegedly inherited the shield without realizing its importance. He agreed to a settlement that called for EVE auction house to release the shield to the U.S. Embassy in Paris. The shield was transferred from the US Embassy in Paris to the Department of Justice, then to temporary curation in a museum. Once back in the US, the DOJ moved to dismiss its forfeiture action, allowing the government to return the shield to the sovereign Acoma Pueblo.

The knowledge of the shield's true significance is closely guarded by the Acoma People. Upon the shield's return, Vallo stated: “Now we will turn our attention to the shield, return it to […] Acoma, to allow it time to rest, and engage our community back with its protector. And in doing so, we ask the public and media for privacy.”

The recovery of the shield prompted Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) to propose Senate Bill 2165: Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act (STOP Act). The law was intended to close a loophole that prevented NAGPRA from applying internationally, as well as facilitate repatriation and increase penalties. It was signed into law by President Biden on December 21st, 2022.

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Religious Work – crucifixes, shrine objects, icons, religious texts

The Pueblo of Acoma

EVE Auctions

Jerold Collings

USA

Indigenous or sovereign nation/tribe

Damien Huffer

Jason Felch