FBI Seizes Native American, Other Artifacts At Rural Indiana Home
” A team of FBI agents, archaeologists and other experts are confiscating Native American and other artifacts and relics from a collection described as having immeasurable cultural significance from a home in rural central Indiana, authorities said.
An FBI investigation determined that the homeowner, Donald C. Miller, may have knowingly and unknowingly collected objects in violation of several treaties and federal and state statutes, Special Agent in Charge Robert Jones said Wednesday.
” We know that some of the items were acquired improperly,” Jones said.
The items, stored in several buildings on the property about 35 miles southeast of Indianapolis, are to be collected, identified and repatriated, he said. Those that properly belong to Miller are being safeguarded, he said. A number of statutes and law may not have been in effect when Miller collected some of the items, he said.
” The exact number of artifacts in the collection is unknown at this time but it’s believed to be in the thousands,” Jones said. “The monetary value of the entire collection and of its individual pieces is yet to be determined however the cultural value of these artifacts is immeasurable.”
Jones said that the extensive collection, which Miller amassed over eight decades, includes Native American artifacts and relics as well as items from the United States, China, Haiti, Australia, Russia, New Guinea, Italy, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Greece, Peru and possibly several other countries.”
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