Selling their ceremonial items indicates how depressed and demoralized the people were. Yet, even under these circumstances, the anthropologists thought their purchases were valid. How sad that is. This is a hard project because all of these issues have to be looked at. For instance, one archaeology professor at Berkeley feels that his first-amendment right is being violated by this project because he won t be able to continue to use Pomo remains in his teaching.
Every person deserves to be laid to rest in ceremony, yet there are no reburial songs.
This is a big challenge, yet I know the spirit will prevail. It has been a project of mixed feelings. Old anger is being stirred, and at the same time many of the elders are delighted to discover how much has been preserved. Archival materials exist such as unedited films of people from our area. Some casino tribes wanted to buy copies of films, reports, tapes, and everything Pomo.