Modern Conflicts
The Iroquois Traditionalist Society has opposed the sale of False Face masks to private collectors and museums. The Society is very sacred and not to be shared, in any form, with those who do not belong to either the society itself or the tribe, whose members are sometimes involved in the curing rites without belonging to the society. Traditionalists insist that schools should not imitate the faces for projects. It is seen as a sign of disrespect to the Iroquois people and the False Face spirit. Many Iroquois also campaign to regain possession of masks that remain with private collectors or museums. Several Iroquois governments have pushed for the return of masks to the communities from which they came. The National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. has returned many items of significant importance, including masks, and is still in the process of returning others.
The Onondaga Chief Tadadaho issued a statement online many years ago about the Haudenosaunee policies regarding masks. These policies prohibit the sale, exhibition or representation in pictures of the masks to the public. They also condemn the general distribution of information regarding the medicine societies, as well as denying non-Indians any right to examine, interpret, or present the beliefs, functions, or duties of these societies.
Read more about this topic: False Face Society
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