According to officials on Wednesday, law enforcement are being packed up and scanned at a local Indiana firm for examination. The examination is part of a probe on a 91 year-old man who has amassed the artifacts for over eight decades, NBC News said. Donald Miller is cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine whether the artifacts previously in his possession should be returned to the Native American tribes or to countries from his makeshift museum at his Waldron, Indiana, farmhouse.
Professor Larry Zimmerman of anthropology and museum studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, expressed his astonishment at the vast collection of artifacts, which are currently being examined by a team composed of dozens of FBI agents, support staff and third-party experts in archaeology, anthropology and other related disciplines. Zimmerman said in a news conference, "I have never seen a collection like this in my entire life except at some of the largest museums."
Special agent in charge Robert Jones of the FBI's Indianapolis office said that Miller's collection include Native American artifacts plus anthropological and archaeological artifacts from China, Haiti, Australia, Russia, Italy, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Greece, Peru, among other countries. He also said that the FBI will review how Miller came to acquire the objects and whether the artifacts were subject to a statute or treaty at the time of acquisition. He also indicated that Miller might have violated certain laws to acquire the items, NBC News said.
"We know that some of the items were acquired improperly. The cultural value of these artifacts is immeasurable," Jones added.
On the other hand, Jones was not clear about how the investigation on Miller started, but he added that a member of an FBI art crimes team from Indianapolis had information that Miller has several items in need of repatriation.
Meanwhile, the FBI said that the cataloging of the artifacts and the packing, which started Tuesday, could last a week. It was not clear whether the bureau will pursue charges against Miller.
