[OR_Archaeology] article "Burial grounds artifact theft brings jail time"

[Susan White]

>From the "Crescent City California News, Sports, & Weather | The
Triplicate" web site 

Burial grounds artifact theft brings jail time
Written by Nick Grube, The Triplicate October 27, 2009 09:00 am
Man put his exploits on an Internet video

A Eureka man who stole artifacts from Yurok Tribe burial grounds and
published a video of his exploits on YouTube was sentenced in Humboldt
County Superior Court on Friday to serve 30 days in jail, perform 60
hours of community service and pay a $530 fine.

Several tribal members were present during the proceedings, according
to a prosecutor in the case, and some asked the judge to impose the
maximum punishment on James Edward Truhls, who initially faced up to a
year in jail and a $10,000 fine after pleading guilty in September to
illegally excavating and removing American Indian artifacts from a
cultural site.

Despite the smaller sentence, Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney
Christa McKimmy said Monday she was satisfied with the ruling, given
Truhls’ lack of a criminal past.

“I think the 30 days along with the community service sends a message
to the community that our court is not going to take this kind of
conduct lightly,” McKimmy said. “I’m pleased that the judge
ordered some jail time (considering) the defendant had no previous
criminal record.”

Truhls was arrested in December after Patrick’s Point State Park
rangers became aware of a YouTube video that showed him uncovering the
artifacts in a Yurok village site. A subsequent investigation led to
more videos Truhls had posted online, including one in which he showed
off his entire collection.

A state park ranger was able to identify Truhls from a comparison of
these other videos and trace them back to his location by verifying the
IP address of the computer  he used to upload the content to the Web
site.

When authorities searched Truhls’ home in December they not only
found arrowheads and an awl that were taken from Patrick’s Point State
Park, but several other cultural items from other American Indian
tribes.

According to the Yurok Tribe, these other artifacts were collected from
the Eastern Sierra Nevada region and, like the ones taken from Patrick's
Point State Park, were also featured on YouTube.

As a part of his sentence, Truhls was ordered to return the Yurok Tribe
artifacts and sentenced to two years of informal probation, during which
time he cannot go to state parks in Humboldt County. There will also be
a restitution hearing to determine if Truhls will have to pay for the
damage to the burial site.

McKimmy said an archeological survey estimated there was about $14,000
worth of damage done to the burial grounds, and the presumed site
reparation would cost around $8,000. 

“The hearing will be to determine what the actual amount will be,”
McKimmy said. “That (total amount) will be our request, and I’m sure
the defense will contest that.”

Traditionally, Yuroks are buried with items that represent their
personality while they were alive. According to the tribe, if these are
removed it’s as if part of a person’s identity is stolen. This makes
disturbing burial sites one of the most offensive crimes that can be
committed against Yurok ancestors.