french hearing on contested hopi artifacts auction [View all]

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PARIS (AP) -- A French judge will decide Friday whether to let a Paris auction house sell dozens of items central to an Arizona tribe's religious practices.

A lawyer for the Hopi Tribe and the association Survival International argued at a hearing Thursday against the auction of the kachina masks, urging the court to suspend it so that their origin can be determined.

The judge said a ruling will come down Friday midday, just before the sale is scheduled to begin.

The Hopi Tribe contends the items were stolen and has asked the auction house, Neret-Minet Tessier & Sarrou, to prove otherwise. The items are considered communal property of the Hopi Tribe.