SPOKANE, Wash. – An Asotin man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one misdemeanor count of disturbing an archaeological resource for digging and collecting artifacts within the Umatilla National Forest in 2023.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, 39-year-old Shane Dee Caldwell used tools to dig for artifacts within the traditional homeland of the Nez Perce Tribe between June and August 2023.
While executing a search warrant at Caldwell’s home in February 2024, police recovered 514 Native American artifacts.
“Archeologists agreed that the overwhelming majority of the artifacts were consistent with the type found within the archaeological site,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The search also yielded Nez Perce National Forest and Umatilla National Forest maps with circled areas known to have been used by Native Americans and would likely yield archeological artifacts.”
The U.S. Forest Service is working with the Nez Perce Tribe to return the artifacts.
