Since 2018, the Association on American Indian Affairs, based in Washington, D.C., has tracked potentially sensitive Native items sold at auctions around the world. Many of these items hold spiritual or cultural significance for tribes across the United States.

The organization has found an ally in Revere Auctions, a St. Paul-based auction house believed to be the only one in the country with a formal process for repatriating Native American items. The process provides a pathway for returning items of spiritual importance to tribal governments.

Shannon O’Loughlin, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the CEO and attorney for the Association on American Indian Affairs, and Sean Blanchet, co-founder of Revere Auctions, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to discuss this work.