Oregon Artifact Collector - Gets Artifacts Back After BLM Sting

[PacificNorthWest-Relics]

I'm happy to report that sometimes the little guy can win...

This is a follow-up story on Operation Bring'em Back a huge bust the was conducted in Oregon five years ago.

Artifact sting had mixed success
Central Oregon men had artifacts taken for 5 years in investigation
By Kate Ramsayer / The Bulletin
Published: May 30. 2010 4:00AM PST

Federal law enforcement agents rushed into Miles Simpson's Bend house early on a late January morning more than five years ago and, over the course of the day, seized his family's collection of American Indian artifacts and crafts.

“They came in with guns locked and loaded,” Simpson said.

At the same time in La Pine, armed agents guarded Harold Elliot as others went through the rooms of his house, taking what Elliot estimates to be 5,000 artifacts and other American Indian items.

“These people kept assuring me that I was not guilty of anything, and then they started taking, one by one, different things out of my house until they really (took) almost the entire collection,” Elliot recalled. “I felt totally violated.”

But earlier this month, the government returned most of Simpson's collection.

Elliot has picked up part of his artifact collection, and he plans to claim the rest in June.

“It's a huge feeling of satisfaction to get it back,” Elliot said.

The American Indian artifact seizures were part of Operation Bring 'Em Back, an effort by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and other agencies to crack down on illegal artifact excavation, collecting and trafficking.

Simpson and Elliot have said that they were wrongly targeted for their collections — and hope no one else has to go through a similar ordeal. But Federal officials say the operation has been a success, pointing to the conviction of more than a dozen people of artifact-related crimes and noting additional cases are ongoing.

“We're not done, and there may be more elements of this case to play out in the future,” said BLM spokesman Michael Campbell.

In early 2005, 26 search warrants were executed as part of Operation Bring 'Em Back, with agents seizing more than 100,000 artifacts. The search warrants also turned up firearms, methamphetamine labs and indoor marijuana grows, according to a news release from the Department of Justice's Oregon district.

Representatives of the Department of Justice declined to comment last week, citing the ongoing cases.

So far, 14 people have pleaded guilty to violating the federal Archaeological Resources Protection Act as part of the operation, according to federal court documents, and several more cases are open and ongoing.

Michael Orf, of Redmond, was one of the highest-profile defendants. He had attempted to sell a skeleton he helped dig up in the Steelhead Falls area to a BLM informant. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $20,000.

At his sentencing hearing, tribal members testified about how disturbing human remains disturbs the spirits of the dead.

Removing artifacts from public land is illegal, even if an item is just sitting on the ground, Campbell said. Disturbing the artifacts can also prevent archaeologists from evaluating them and learning about their history, he said.

In the Paisley Cave area, for example, archaeologists with the University of Oregon discovered fossilized feces that indicated people had lived in the region earlier than previously thought — a discovery that might have slipped by scientists if the sites had been disturbed.

“That's what we're really trying to prevent,” Campbell said. “(We're) making sure that those items stay out on public land, and remain public.”

With the number of items seized as part of Operation Bring 'Em Back, the number of search warrants and defendants convicted, the operation was a success, he said.

Elliot and Simpson both say they built their collections legally — and that the return of the collections illustrates that.

Simpson said some of the seized items were part of his father's collection, and has said he built up the collection with items from auctions as well as items gathered from private land with permission.

Elliot said he had bought up other people's collections, and bought clothing and other goods from American Indians.

“I haven't done anything privately or overtly to warrant any part of this,” he said.

But the federal operation has had a negative impact on his life, he said.

“The stress level is just so high,” Elliot said, noting that he has been divorced twice from the same woman. “To have this going on and on for 51⁄2 years, that adds a lot of stress to a marriage.”

Because federal agents seized his records as well as artifacts and crafts, he also had to rebuild the accounting system of his real estate business.

And after the federal raid, some neighbors and others looked at him askance, he said.

“People still thought I was guilty, even though they've known me,” he said. “They look at you like, well, you could possibly be a criminal.”

Now he has part of his collection back, Elliot said, even if he did have to go to Roseburg to pick up the beaded dresses, baskets, wood items and more. Some of the fragile things have been damaged, and some items have mold or water stains on them.

Simpson, who picked up his collection May 21, said some of the items in his collection have been damaged as well. Frames holding the artifacts have been broken, and one bone tool had been broken in three pieces and taped together.

“I had these things in perfect, pristine (condition),” he said.

And he is still missing some documents and photographs, Simpson said, and his lawyer had to work to get the entire collection returned.

Simpson has also been indicted for filing three false tax returns for 2001, 2002 and 2003. The indictment was filed in March 2008, and unsealed in April 2010.

He said he wants a speedy court trial, however, and won't agree to plea deals. He and his lawyer are also working to get his remaining property returned, and to get compensation for damage done to artifacts and other items.

“It's a war of attrition,” Simpson said. “They want to just wear you down till you're too tired to deal with it.”

[jeremywilliams]

He who has the money mostly wins these kinda things.

[Markus]

being a knapper and occassional point-looker-for in Oregon, this scares me....

[jeremywilliams]

True but alteast he got his stuff. I remember this story when he was hit. Its good to hear the outcome but bad to hear the things were hurt. It goes to show if you dig with the state they will take all the fun out of the history and the learning. And we are the pot hunters.

[mootsman]

Originally Posted by jeremywilliams

It goes to show if you dig with the state they will take all the fun out of the history and the learning. And we are the pot hunters.

Not sure I'm following you here? Also I never read the original story. Why were they targeted? Or why did the Feds assume they should be? Were they in anyway associated with the dirtbag who excavated and tried to sell human remains?

[jeremywilliams]

What I meant was that we aren't alowd to go and find arrowheads for fun but they can trash someones collection or as another story that was posted here that said that they would take donated collections and use them as fill for driveways and pads.

[DesertWalker]

Don't forget the media's part in every story they tell. Most of the time they don't have the stories straight and embellish or invent stories that will appeal to their editor and/or sell news. The truth is most ALWAYS lacking in news reports. Just a few words or slant on a subject can change the real issue!

[jeremywilliams]

That is true and also what people say doesn't help eather. I am not saying that I want to go fight the gov but I would like to hunt rock with my son even if it is just taking pictures of them.

[oregonranger]

If you look at the Oregon Statute, it reads that a surface collection of a random arrowhead is the one exemption of an "artifact removal". Provided the point can be collected without the aid of a tool, you are not posessing any tools, and you are not in an area designated as an "archaeological site" ; these collections are for personal use and sales or trade of these items are subject to penalty by law. To me this says if you are surface hunting on private ground you are good. The law doesn't even say that it has to be private land, but Im sure the forest circus would at least cite you for theft of government property; similar to illegal taking of firewood, plants, or mushrooms.

[highsierra]

Many, if not most, of the artifacts laying on the surface will never be seen by archys. They are by necessity and education not willing to make any effort to do a serious walkabout in search of these stray items. Without either a "grant" or some sort of payment for their work they are not likely to stray far off of the beaten path. I don't worry about unwanted intruders when I am out in the wilds hunting artifacts. Out of sight, out of mind.