Corky Smith’s Native American Artifacts Returned

Corky Smith’s Native American Artifacts Returned

Late last month (February 2024), working closely with Corky’s son, Kurt Smith, I’m pleased to announce that the collection of his father’s NA artifacts was successfully transferred to the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians Acjachemen Nation (AN) at their offices in San Juan Capistrano.

After educating Kurt and his brother Eric regarding the various repatriation policies, procedures and protocols, to ensure these finds didn’t inadvertently or improperly go to some museum and just draw dust in a basement, we consensually concluded that this was the smartest course of action.

We felt that these items were the rightful property, inheritances and legacies of this "lineal descendant tribe." We felt by this gesture that we would be doing the right thing, performing a morally correct act.

Our action reminded me of a quote my own father Hermann, who once explained to me as a boy: “Character is fate.” This comes down to us from 2500 years ago through a Greek philosopher, Heraclitus of Ephesus.

Choices and accepting the consequences and ramifications of those choices are ultimately a reflection of that person’s mental and moral journey, the standards by which their lives should be measured by society. I doubt that my dad knew the origin of the quote but did understand the core value he was trying to instill in me.

Repatriation, btw, isn’t limited to indigenous American artifiacts. In a more general sense, it can be a return in the form of money, or even a person.

For those that follow international news, familial property and at times national possessions were stolen by conquerors who pillaged and plundered (like the renowned Nazi thefts) make the headlines every day when finally returned. Disputes can get pretty messy.

A common theme is that a lot of museums and private collectors have items in their possession that they should not, so it’s a type of ultimate justice when they find their way home, returned to their lawful owners----through courts or if necessary, through mass broadcast embarrassment, socialized humiliation as it were.

I would like to dispel one myth about Corky: I’ve heard that he never actually received his Master’s Degree, that it had failed to pass faculty muster? He did, albeit he was apparently 45 years old!

So add persistence to his kudos, I’ve included a scanned copy in my slideshow for skeptics or naysayers. Only thing that perplexed me was that I thought his degree was in Archaeology, but it was awarded in Anthropology.

Once I understood the volume and nature of the repatriation task at hand, I reached out to AN Chairwoman/CEO Professor Heidi Lucero who I’d met previously. She was her usual happy, cordial, upbeat self, and we began coordinating mutual schedules to synchronize the transfer.

Ironically, she’s on staff and teaches American Indian Studies at my alma mater, Cal-State Long Beach. I minored in anthropology there, and my research plus the trust I felt socializing with her people over the years led me to believe that turning these items over to them was the appropriate path.

Basically, give the tribe the dignified and respectful alternative, the courtesy of deciding what was historically sacred and/or of intrinsic (spiritual) significance. Let them go through the material in private, at their own pace, it wasn’t for us to determine "what went where." Their choice, their call.

So Kurt, local John Parlette and I met up at Corky’s storage unit out in Laguna Hills. I invited John because he and Corky were not only close friends for over ½ of a century but also John’s acumen, having greater regional archaeological knowledge (I had specialized in Plains and Southwest NA tribal belief systems).

John, like Corky, had also explored the San Joaquin Hills over the years, might have been with Corky when the pieces were displaced from their environs, help identify original sites or provide context to assist Professor Lucero and her people.

Several dozen milk crates of rocks and whatnot, 6 Rubbermaids of related NA literature and classic textbooks, plus an extremely interesting cardboard box of arrowheads and mixture of shells (for a total of 2 truckloads) later, we then transported them in their entirety to the AN facility.

Confirming Forest Gump’s “Life Is Like A Box of Chocolates,” or maybe the “Department Of You Can’t Make This Stuff Up,” turned out that Heidi’s mom works at the offices, and after some mutual historical "talk story" gabbing, we also discovered we’d all been through the Long Beach Unified School System, graduated from different high schools within that network.

I’ll place some helpful links at the bottom of this column, meanwhile many are unaware of basic guidelines, codes of conduct as it were, when encountering these antiquities.

State Preservation Laws

Administrative Code, Title 14, Section 4308 “No person shall remove, injure, deface or destroy any object of paleontological, archaeological, or historical interest or value.”

If you didn’t know it, via CEQA and/or NEPA, entitities or agencies (public or private) developing (invasive excavating, terraforming) in potential NA historical homelands often proactively hire a tribal expert to monitor activities during groundbreaking.

This protects both party’s best interests, and at times this paid consultant is deemed mandatory mitigation, an exaction or concession for construction permits to be issued and then signed off on.

Yes, it can hold up a project, but when everyone understands the ethical aspects and legal boundaries, cooler, more rational minds generally prevail.

I’d be lying if I didn’t share that on some of the sites I’ve visited as I’ve performed in the role as an environmentsal compliance inspector for a client, I’ve heard loud grumbling.

Construction folk have a “Git ‘er done” mentality, a lot of Type A personalities, plus holdups can mean (temporarily) smaller paychecks. So it’s not all sweet acceptance.

If found on private property, what you the reader should do is just leave it/them be, in situ, do not touch or disturb. Local NA contacts are easily found on the internet, call them asap.

Take fotos, get a cell # and/or email address for transmitting visual aids to assist the recipients. Follow their instructions to a “T.”

If found in un-developed wilderness (most likely caves, mounds, or eroded hills and streambeds), contact the caretakers of said property (County, State or federal government) staff. They know the rules.

From our National Parks Service here’s a brief tutorial I found helpful:

What does the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act do?

NAGPRA requires federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funds (including museums, universities, state agencies, and local governments) to:

· Repatriate or transfer Native American human remains and other cultural items to the appropriate parties.

· Conduct repatriation or transfer through consultation and collaboration with lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations.

· Protect and plan for Native American human remains and other cultural items that may be removed from federal or tribal lands.

· Identify and report all Native American human remains and other cultural items in inventories and summaries of holdings or collections.

· Give notice prior to repatriating or transferring human remains and other cultural items.

What is the significance and impact of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act?

· NAGPRA is both a human rights law and a cultural heritage law. Through NAGPRA, Congress acknowledged that human remains and other cultural items in holdings or collections or removed from federal or tribal lands belong to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations. The law opened paths for museums, federal agencies, and Native Americans to work together to identify and return human remains and funerary objects to their communities of origin.

· A significant impact from NAGPRA is increased communication between archeologists, museum staff, and Native Americans. NAGPRA requires that Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations be consulted whenever archeological investigations encounter, or are expected to encounter, Native American cultural items or when such items are unexpectedly discovered on Federal or tribal lands. Excavation or removal of any such items also must be done under procedures required by the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (Sec. 3 (c)(1)).

Personally, I felt a sense of justifiable relief, knowing that albeit in only a small way, my father’s advise had found resonance, had been the best, most profound guidance which he could have given to his 15 year-old son.

In conclusion, because it’s only natural and fair to ask: Did Corky feel as though he was desecrating these sites, performing an immoral act by making them his personal possessions?

Tell you what, I’ll ask him when I see him next time.

https://www.latimes.com/socal/...

https://www.jbmian.com/#/

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/archeology/napgra.htm

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/26...