Thieves steal over 1,000 Native American artifacts from Oakland Museum

Thieves stole more than 1,000 Native American artifacts from the Oakland Museum of California just days before the headline-making heist of crown jewels from the Louvre Museum in Paris, police have announced.

The burglars broke into the Oakland Museum’s off-site storage facility just before 3:30 a.m. local time on October 15, the Oakland Police Department announced Wednesday.

Police said the thieves made off with historic artifacts, including Native American baskets and jewelry, as well as laptops owned by the museum. The value of the items taken was not immediately known, and further details about the heist were not provided.

Lori Fogarty, the museum’s executive director and CEO, told reporters Wednesday that museum staff were not present at the facility when the robbery took place and first learned of the heist when they arrived for work on the morning of October 16, the Oaklandside reported. The building is equipped with security cameras and alarms.

“The theft that occurred represents a brazen act that robs the public of our state’s cultural heritage,” Fogarty said in a statement.

“Most of these objects have been given to the Museum by generous donors. We are working in close partnership with the City of Oakland, the Oakland Police Department, and the FBI to see that these objects are returned.”

Police said that the heist is being investigated with the FBI’s Art Crime Team and that anyone with tips are urged to contact the police department’s burglary team or the FBI.

Since the heist at the Louvre Museum on October 19, there has been global fascination with similar thefts.

Historic coins were taken from the Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot museum in the French town of Langres a day after the Louvre heist.

And, a Chinese woman was charged in the September theft of gold nuggets from the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, French prosecutors announced last week, as officials faced scrutiny for the Louvre heist.