Custer Dealer Seeks Return Of Seized Artifacts | Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/29/custer-dealer-seeks-return-seized-artifacts/GARRYOWEN, Mont. – A few miles from where George Custer made his infamous Last Stand against thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, artifacts dealer Christopher Kortlander is waging his own battle with authorities to reclaim a trove of war bonnets, medicine bags and other items seized during government raids on his privately-operated Custer museum.
The raids came during a five-year investigation into Kortlander's alleged dealings in fraudulent artifacts and eagle feathers in violation of federal law. No charges were ever filed. The government dropped its investigation in 2009, and most of the items seized during the raids — including 7th Cavalry memorabilia, other American Indian artifacts and thousands of pages of documents — have since been returned.
Yet the dispute between Kortlander and the government rages on. Sealed court filings obtained by The Associated Press show the government still holds 22 items, partly on the word of a convicted felon who claimed Kortlander acquired them illegally. Many contain eagle or migratory bird feathers, which government attorneys said in court documents renders the items "contraband" under the Bald Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
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