Smoke Signals 3
OCTOBER 1,2007
'DmsQirosDtiwe'&iuicftiioini saekfleuus Tirolbe
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
The scheduled Oct. 28 auction of
an almost 30-pound piece sliced off
Tomanowos almost a decade ago
has re-ignited Tribal ire regarding
the trafficking in pieces from the
sacred meteorite.
Darryl Pitt, a New York City
based meteorite collector, plans on
selling a part of Tomanowos, also
known as the 15.5-ton Willamette
meteorite, at an auction conducted
by Bonhams' Madison Avenue loca
tion in New York City.
"We are deeply saddened that any
individual or organization would be
so insensitive to Native American
spirituality and culture as to traffic
in the sale of a sacred and historic
artifact," said Siobhan Taylor, Pub
lic Affairs director of the Confeder
ated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
"As a Tribe, we do not participate
in such sales and auctions. We view
them with dismay."
Pitt obtained the piece of To
manowos in 1998 when he traded
New York City's American Museum
of Natural History a half-ounce
piece of a meteorite from Mars. The
trade occurred before the Confed
erated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
staked a claim to Tomanowos in
November 1999, citing the Native
American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act of 1990.
Tribal representatives argued
that Tomanowos should be re
turned because its place of origin
was on ceded Tribal land. Grand
Ronde ancestors believed Tomano
wos was a holy object that brought
messages from the spirit world.
In June 2000, the Tribe and
museum reached an agreement,
signed by then-Tribal Chairwoman
Kathryn Harrison, which allowed
the brownish iron meteorite to re
main at the museum. The museum
installed a display explaining the
meteorite's history and Native
American religious significance,
and agreed to an annual visit by
Tribal members to hold a spiritual
ceremony with Tomanowos.
Before that agreement, however,
pieces of Tomanowos had been
sliced off over the years and sold or
traded to meteorite collectors. The
museum has housed the meteorite
since 1906.
It's not the first time the auction
of a piece of Tomanowos by Pitt
has upset the Tribe. In February
2002, he sold a six-inch, 3.4-ounce
piece for $11,000.
"In a perfect world, we would like to
see Mr. Pitt return that piece of mete
orite to the Tribe," Taylor said about
the upcoming auction piece. She at
tended this summer's Tomanowos
ceremony held in New York City.
"If he did, we would welcome him
and it would be a cause for great
celebration," Taylor added.
Tomanowos fell from the sky more
than 10,000 years ago and Trib
al members consider it a spiritual
and sacred artifact. In olden times,
Clackamas Chinook Tribal members
believed that Tomanowos created a
union between the sky, earth and
water when it rested in the ground
and collected rainwater in its crevices
and basins.
Early 20th century court testimo
ny by Wasco Tribal members tied,
through oral histories, Tomanowos
to Clackamas Chinook Tribal Chief
Wochimo and other members of
the Tribe. The Clackamas were
one of the more
than 20 Tribes
forcibly moved
to the Grand
Ronde Reser
vation in the
1850s.
Taylor said
the Grand
Ronde Tribe
could not stop
the auction and
would not con
sider becom
ing a bidder
because it does
not believe
that any piece
of Tomanowos
should be sold or exchanged.
Although Pitt was originally
quoted as saying that he did not
intend to offend the Tribe, he later
told The New York Times that the
Tribe should "recognize the possi
bilities for science that the subdivi
sion of meteorites creates."
'The Grand Ronde is such a small
fraction of the story," Pitt said to Hie
New York Times. 'This is a conspicu
ously missing piece that is being of
fered for sale. ... The beliefs of the
Grand Ronde should not preclude sci
ence or the commerce of meteorites."
Attempts by Smoke Signals to
contact Pitt through Bonhams were
unsuccessful.
Denton Ebel, curator of meteorites
at the American Museum of Natural
History, said that when meteorites
go up for sale at auctions, it is dif
ficult for most museums, especially
non-profits, to buy them.
Published estimates say that
the 28-pound piece of Tomanowos
might fetch more than $1 million
Photo courtesy of the Macovich Collection
Tomanowos, also known as the Willamette meteorite, on
display during the Lewis & Clark Exposition in Oregon in 1 905.
at auction.
"Our hope is that many private
collections eventually become part
of museums," Ebel said, adding
that he thinks Pitt's hyping of the
controversy in selling part of To
manowos is designed to increase
the auction sale price.
Taylor said the Tribe considers
each sale of a Tomanowos frag
ment disturbing, and added that
the Tribe is not upset with the
museum, which no longer sells
or trades Tomanowos pieces and
houses the sacred meteorite in a
respectful manner.
"At the time, the museum did not
appreciate the significance to the
Grand Ronde of this meteorite,"
said museum spokesman Stephen
Reichl in The New York Times.
"Once we realized that significance,
everything changed. There is no
way we would do any harm of any
kind to that meteorite."
Includes information from The As
sociated Press and New York Times.
omanowos
timet
ine
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. iiMiiiiiiri-"'T!,',,.., '
More than 1 0,000 years ago:
Tomanowos falls from the sky, most
likely landing in the Pend d'Oreille
region of Idaho. The Great Missoula
Flood eventually transports
Tomanowos to a spot near the falls
of Willamette River.
1 850s: The Clackamas Chinooks, along
with more than 20 other Tribes from
western Oregon and northern California, are
relocated to the Grand Ronde Reservation,
separating them from the sacred site.
1 902-05: The miner charges 25 cents
for people to view Tomanowos.
1906: New York philanthropist Mrs. William Dodge buys
Tomanowos for $20,600 and donates it to the American Museum
of Natural History in New York City.
1999: The Confederated Tribes of Grade Ronde, citing the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act, seeks return of Tomanowos. The museum counters,
asking a judge to declare it Tomanowos' owner.
2002: Pitt sells a six-inch, 3.4-ounce portion of Tomanowos at auction for $1 1,000
Billions of years ago: Scientists believe Tomanowos was the iron core of a
planetesimal that was shattered in a stellar collision.
1 0,000 years ago to 1 9th century: Tomanowos' resting place becomes a sacred site for western Oregon
Indian Tribes, particularly the Clackamas Chinooks, who believe it was sent to Earth by the Sky People.
1902: Tomanowos is found by part-time miner Ellis Hughes, who removes it from ceded
Tribal land that then belonged to Oregon Iron and Steel Co.
1905: By judicial order, Tomanowos returns to Oregon Iron and Steel.
1998: The museum trades a 28-pound piece of Tomanowos to
meteorite collector Darryl Pitt in exchange for a half-ounce piece of a
Martian meteorite. Using a portable diamond saw, Pitt and longtime
meteorite collection curator Martin Prinzcut off a piece of Tomanowos.
2000: The Tribe and museum reach an accord that
keeps Tomanowos in New York City and provides
annual ceremonial access to Tribal members, as well as
acknowledgement of the meteorite's religious importance.
2007: Pitt proposes selling a 28-pound
portion of Tomanowos at auction on
Oct. 28.
Graphic created by George Valdez