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Bluff » It's just 25 miles from Blanding to this lovely town on the banks of the San Juan River. But the thinking here about a two-year federal sting operation on alleged traffickers in Native American antiquities is a world away.
In Blanding, residents are furious that federal authorities have indicted two dozen people, most of them townspeople, on charges they trafficked in archeological artifacts.
But in the hamlet of Bluff, just north of the Navajo Nation, people think the authorities did the right thing.
"Back in the time when these (Native Americans) were buried, these items were used to take them to the next world," Perry Maryboy said Saturday. The Anglo collectors "are after these things for money. To me, it's not right."
Maryboy, a Navajo from White Rock Point, feels that antiquity laws should be enforced, given that southeastern Utahns and countless visitors have plucked such rarities for decades.
Many non-Navajos in the Bluff area have the same thoughts, but none interviewed by The Tribune would agree to be identified for fear of retribution.
"It's been going on forever," said one Anglo woman who would not give her name. "But that doesn't make it right. It's a moral question. Stealing things from graves is racist."
But it isn't just artifacts from graves that hold special spiritual meaning for Native Americans, Maryboy explained.
"They are interested in the material (artifacts) but not the story behind them," he said. "It goes back to how they interact with Native Americans out here. They don't want to know what we're thinking."
Baxter Randolph Benaly, 62, is a Navajo who lives near Bluff. He applauds federal authorities enforcement of the antiquities laws, but says it should be done more often because some non-Indians have not got the message that antiquities on Indian or federal land are to remain where they are because they carry spiritual, as well as historical, significance.
"They say it's just a hobby," he said. "To us, it's not a hobby. Leave that stuff alone."
Benaly's wife, Dora Baxter, an Apache from San Carlos, Ariz. explained that Native Americans believe it's important that all relics stay where they are.
"There is a reason why they are there," she said. "We believe that. It's part of our culture. They should be left alone."
David Blackhorse of Montezuma Creek belongs to a Navajo tribal organization that works to protect antiquities.
All of the Anasazi relics are sacred, he said. The organization has regained possession of San Juan County-area artifacts from museums in Germany and New York City.
Once returned, the relics are ceremonially cleansed. Blackhorse said the antiquities don't belong in private collections or museums. And, he added, he would like federal authorities to enforce the antiquities laws more regularly.
"Catching these people who took all these things, I don't think it's enough," he said. "I think (the authorities) should do it more."
For some, the death of Blanding physician James Redd has changed the discussion. Redd, who was one of 24 indicted in the federal sting, committed suicide Thursday, authorities said.
One Anglo woman from Bluff said Redd's family should be allowed to grieve. "It's not an appropriate time to go on the record concerning enforcement of antiquities laws," she said
But Maryboy said Redd's death should not be confused with the larger issue of whether those laws should be enforced.
The Anglos "want us to live by laws they built and yet they break them. And now they are playing it down," he said. "It seems like they have the mentality, 'We are running our own country here. We do what we want.' It's pretty strange."
