For five years now, FBI agents, along with archaeological scientists and representatives of Indian tribes, have been trying to return to their rightful owners the artifacts that former nuclear physicist Don Miller kept on his farm. Among them are the remains of almost 500 representatives of the indigenous peoples of the United States, which must be reburied.
This story began in 2014. FBI agents searched the farm of 90-year-old retired Don Miller in Indiana. Ceramics from the pre-Columbian American period, Chinese porcelain vases, Italian mosaics, and the sarcophagus of an Egyptian mummy - this is not a complete list of what was found in Miller's house.
The basement of the house, according to eyewitnesses, was filled to the ceiling with relics and artifacts that were brought from Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and Australia. In total, 42 thousand exhibits were found at Miller's.
Tim Carpenter, the head of the FBI's art crime department, said he had never seen anything like it. More than half of the collection, he said, are artifacts created by the indigenous peoples of the United States.
But what struck the federal agents most was another find: the remains of five hundred people. We are talking about two thousand bones: the FBI believes that they were found when they ravaged and desecrated the graves of the Indians. Carpenter said he didn't know why Miller needed to keep them. A law that prohibits the sale of indigenous remains was passed in 1990.
Miller has never hidden his collection from outsiders. He gladly hosted school trips and local reporters at his home. Miller's neighbors regarded Miller as an eccentric retiree who loved old-fashioned jackets, playing the organ, and telling stories.
In 1998, he was interviewed by the Indianapolis Star newspaper. Miller said that he worked on the Manhattan Project, a program to create nuclear weapons in the United States. According to him, he saw the first ever explosion of an atomic bomb. It was staged at the American Alamogordo training ground. “We were six miles from the bomb. I worked as a signalman, gave signals to detonate the bomb,”Miller recalled.
After that, he worked in Indianapolis for 30 years. He was engaged in the development of aviation electronics for the US Navy. Miller retired in 1983. A colleague claimed that Miller's wanderlust was in his blood. From six weeks of annual leave, he traveled for about a month, and to the most remote corners of the Earth. Shortly before retirement, Miller and his wife also began to travel around the world as missionaries.
Promotional video:
The story of the FBI search shocked a provincial American town. Many of those who have seen Miller's collection have not wondered how he collected these relics. According to Carpenter, the collector admitted that he received part of the exhibits illegally. He violated both local and federal laws of the United States, as well as the norms of international law that govern the handling of historical property. Because of this, the FBI withdrew about seven thousand items from his collection. This was the largest operation in the history of the art crime department. The FBI has not filed charges against Miller.
The collector died in 2015. According to Carpenter, until the end of his days he cooperated with the investigation and really wanted to find the owners of the artifacts that he received illegally. Even more, Miller wanted to return the remains of the Native Americans to their descendants, so that they could perform the reburial ceremony in accordance with all the rules and the disturbed souls could find peace.
The FBI rented a room near Indianapolis for the 7,000 seized exhibits. They maintain a certain temperature regime and humidity level. Carpenter admitted that this operation is the most difficult in his career. “We were supposed to be a museum,” he said. He added that his team members understand the historical, spiritual and cultural significance of the artifacts and treat them very carefully.
Since Miller never kept archives for his collection, it is very difficult to determine the owners of the relics. The FBI works with archaeologists, anthropologists, museum staff and Indian tribesmen. Nevertheless, only about 15% of the exhibits were returned in five years. The bureau even created a special website listing the artifacts and their photographs. It can be accessed by experts who will help determine which countries to return relics to, as well as provide agents with contacts of those who are ready to make claims for artifacts. The FBI also hopes that journalistic coverage of the story will speed up the return of valuables.
American Indian officials praised the efforts of the FBI agents and thanked them. Experts found that most of the remains belonged to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Indians, who inhabited the Missouri River floodplain and lived in the modern states of North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. Some of the remains have already been repatriated and reburied. It is very important for the Indians that the bones of their ancestors lie in the same place where they lived. Beliefs say that only in this case they will be able to reunite with the spirits and find peace.
Some of the artifacts have already been returned to the countries from which Miller illegally removed them. For example, to Ecuador, Canada, New Zealand and Spain. Pottery, which was made before Columbus discovered America, was solemnly handed over to Colombia. And 361 more items from Miller's collection will soon be transferred to China. This will be the largest repatriation of cultural property from the United States to the PRC in history.
