Browning man pleads guilty to charges linked to museum thefts

A Browning man pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to a charge stemming from the theft of artifacts from the Museum of the Plains Indians in 2021.

Preston Jay Spotted Eagle, 31, pleaded guilty to theft of government property before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Great Falls on Oct. 3. He faces up to 10 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine at his Feb. 8 sentencing.

The thefts at the museum, which is run by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board with the U.S. Department of the Interior, came to light after its curator noticed a bear claw necklace missing from a display in August 2021, according to court documents. She asked Spotted Eagle, who worked as an aid at the museum, about the necklace, assuming he had removed it during inventory, court documents said.

Spotted Eagle allegedly denied any knowledge of the necklace, but surveillance camera footage implicated him, court documents said. Confronted a second time, he allegedly claimed he grabbed the necklace because it had fallen from the display. He also insisted the necklace remained in the museum and attempted to dissuade the curator from showing the video to anyone else, court documents said.

He returned the necklace later that afternoon, allegedly saying he found it under papers in another room. The necklace suffered “heavy” damage during its disappearance, according to court documents.

The debacle led the museum to conduct another inventory, court documents said. Other missing items included four loose bear claws taken from a collection room drawer, a pair of moccasins and 26 golden eagle feathers from a war bonnet. Ultimately, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began investigating the missing and damaged items.

In court documents, authorities alleged that Spotted Eagle removed artifacts, took photos with his cell phone, tried on historic clothing and rummaged through sacred bundles.

Officials estimated the damage to the necklace at $1,200. The four bear claws and the missing moccasins were valued together at an estimated $1,150 and cost $2,150 to replace. Officials put the value of the golden eagle feathers at about $7,800, but noted no fair market value existed as trade in the feathers is illegal. Damage to the war bonnet could not be assessed for the same reason, officials said.

“The government alleged that it was impossible to put a monetary amount on the items, which are unique and culturally significant to the Blackfeet Tribe,” officials said in a press release announcing Spotted Eagle’s guilty plea.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.