Sacred Objects and Sacred Places
Preserving Tribal Traditions

Andrew Gulliford

About the Book

Sacred Objects and Sacred Places combines native oral histories, photographs, drawings, and case studies to present current issues of cultural preservation vital to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. Complete with commentaries by native peoples, non-native curators, and archaeologists, this book discusses the repatriation of human remains, the curation and exhibition of sacred masks and medicine bundles, and key cultural compromises for preservation successes in protecting sacred places on private, state, and federal lands.

The author travelled thousands of miles over a ten-year period to meet and interview tribal elders, visit sacred places, and discuss the power of sacred objects in order to present the essential debates surrounding tribal historic preservation. Without revealing the exact locations of sacred places (unless tribes have gone public with their cultural concerns), Gulliford discusses the cultural significance of tribal sacred sites and the ways in which they are being preserved. Some of the case studies included are the Wyoming Medicine Wheel, Devil's Tower National Monument, Mount Shasta in California, Mount Graham in Arizona, and the Sweet Grass Hills in Montana. Federal laws are reviewed in the context of tribal preservation programs, and tribal elders discuss specific cases of repatriation.

Though the book describes numerous tribal tragedies and offers examples of cultural theft, Sacred Objects and Sacred Places affirms living traditions. It reveals how the resolution of these controversies in favour of native people will ensure their cultural continuity in a changing and increasingly complex world.

About the Author

Andrew Gulliford is associate professor of history and director of the Public History and Historic Preservation Program at Middle Tennessee State University.

Table of Contents

1. Bones of Contention: The Repatriation of Native American Human Remains
2. Native Americans and Museums: Curation and Repatriation of Sacred and Tribal Objects
3. Sacred Places and Sacred Landscapes
4. From the Sweetgrass Hills to Bear's Lodge: Preservation of Tribal Sacred Places
5. Living Tribal Cultures

• Appendix A: Tribal Traditional Cultural Places (from the National Park Service
• Appendix B: Current Tribal Museums and Community Centers (from the American Association for State and Local History
  

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