Post by blackcrowheart on Jun 1, 2006 14:51:45 GMT -5
Interior takes aim at fake Indian art
By DIANA MARRERO
Tribune Washington Bureau
www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006605220303
<http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200660522030\
3>
WASHINGTON — Loren Bird Rattler, who runs the
Blackfeet Heritage Center & Art Gallery in Browning,
found a counterfeit quill pipe egg in his gallery's
inventory when he first went to work there.
The quill pipe egg, used to carry a peace pipe, came
from Czechoslovakia. He has since thrown out the
piece, although he considered keeping it to teach
customers how to spot a fake.
"A lot of it is the trinket type of work that can be
mass produced," said Bird Rattler, who does not allow
cameras in the gallery to prevent photographs that
could be used to copy authentic work.
He is not alone in his worry.
These days, American Indian artists compete in a
global market where their traditional flutes, rugs,
baskets and jewelry can be mass-produced in places
like China, Pakistan and Mexico and sold to
unsuspecting customers as native-made products.
It's such a problem that fake Indian arts and crafts
represent a significant portion of the billion-dollar
industry, sold on the Internet as well as at powwows,
roadside stands and shops on Indian reservations,
experts say.
Federal officials have taken notice and are stepping
up efforts against the counterfeit goods.
But an attempt by the Interior Department to shift
more money toward investigating fake Indian arts and
crafts is being met with skepticism among some members
of Congress.
That's because the agency wants to divert the money it
spends on running three regional Indian museums across
the country toward the effort. Lawmakers are still
hammering out the agency's budget for next year.
President Bush has proposed a $10.5 billion budget for
the agency, about $332 million less than this year's
funding.
And the museums — which include Browning's Museum of
the Plains Indians as well as facilities in South
Dakota and Oklahoma — have strong support from some
congressional lawmakers, including Rep. Dennis
Rehberg, R-Mont., who have vowed keep them open.
Meridith Stanton, the director of the department's
Indian Arts and Crafts Board, is trying to stay out of
the fray but says the board would benefit from having
a law enforcement officer devoted to investigating
counterfeit Indian arts and crafts. The board now
presents its cases to officers within the Interior
Department or other federal agencies.
The board, which operates on a $1 million budget,
devotes just under half of its funding to the museums.
She estimates they would have up to an additional
$400,000 for law enforcement if Congress allows the
change.
Selling fake Indian arts and crafts is a federal crime
with a penalty of up to $250,000 in fines and five
years in prison. But few people are ever charged. In
one of those rare cases, a Navajo woman pleaded guilty
in March to selling goods in New Mexico and Arizona
that she claimed were genuine Navajo rugs. She has not
been sentenced.
More often, those types of cases are seen as low
priorities for law enforcement officers who already
are stretched thin dealing with major crimes such as
homicides, rapes and methamphetamine sales, said Gary
Edwards, who heads the Native American Law Enforcement
Association.
"Many times, people don't see the negative impact
counterfeit arts and crafts have on native
communities, culture and the history of our nation,"
he said.
The Indian Arts and Crafts Board also works to combat
counterfeit Indian goods through education — teaching
customers what to look for through brochures, seminars
and advertisements.
That may be why they are seeing the number of
complaints about fake Indian goods steadily increase,
from less than 20 four years ago to nearly 100 this
year, said Ken Van Wey, who works on the board.
The counterfeit wares are an especially big problem
for tribes in the Southwest, said David Cloutier,
whose Southwest Association for Indian Arts puts
together the annual Santa Fe Indian market, the
largest American Indian arts show in the world.
"It's a serious issue, and it's one that has become
more and more blatant," he said.
Across the country, local leaders and artisans are
taking matters into their own hands, working to create
certification marks that guarantee customers they are
buying authentic goods.
It's a model that's been in place for decades in
Alaska, where officials promote a "Silver Hand" seal
to distinguish handcraft from Alaska Eskimos, Aleut or
other Indian artisans.
The counterfeit market literally robs native artists
of their ability to make a living because they often
live in rural areas where crafts can be among the few
only ways to earn cash, said L. Saunders McNeill, who
runs the program for the Alaska State Council on the
Arts.
Bird Rattler, from the Blackfeet Heritage Center, said
he recently stumbled on fake Indian arts and crafts
being sold at a Kalispell shop.
He left a note for the store's manager but does not
know if the goods are still there.
"We have people locally who can do that work so when
it's pawned off as native, yes, it is offensive," he
said.
By DIANA MARRERO
Tribune Washington Bureau
www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006605220303
<http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200660522030\
3>
WASHINGTON — Loren Bird Rattler, who runs the
Blackfeet Heritage Center & Art Gallery in Browning,
found a counterfeit quill pipe egg in his gallery's
inventory when he first went to work there.
The quill pipe egg, used to carry a peace pipe, came
from Czechoslovakia. He has since thrown out the
piece, although he considered keeping it to teach
customers how to spot a fake.
"A lot of it is the trinket type of work that can be
mass produced," said Bird Rattler, who does not allow
cameras in the gallery to prevent photographs that
could be used to copy authentic work.
He is not alone in his worry.
These days, American Indian artists compete in a
global market where their traditional flutes, rugs,
baskets and jewelry can be mass-produced in places
like China, Pakistan and Mexico and sold to
unsuspecting customers as native-made products.
It's such a problem that fake Indian arts and crafts
represent a significant portion of the billion-dollar
industry, sold on the Internet as well as at powwows,
roadside stands and shops on Indian reservations,
experts say.
Federal officials have taken notice and are stepping
up efforts against the counterfeit goods.
But an attempt by the Interior Department to shift
more money toward investigating fake Indian arts and
crafts is being met with skepticism among some members
of Congress.
That's because the agency wants to divert the money it
spends on running three regional Indian museums across
the country toward the effort. Lawmakers are still
hammering out the agency's budget for next year.
President Bush has proposed a $10.5 billion budget for
the agency, about $332 million less than this year's
funding.
And the museums — which include Browning's Museum of
the Plains Indians as well as facilities in South
Dakota and Oklahoma — have strong support from some
congressional lawmakers, including Rep. Dennis
Rehberg, R-Mont., who have vowed keep them open.
Meridith Stanton, the director of the department's
Indian Arts and Crafts Board, is trying to stay out of
the fray but says the board would benefit from having
a law enforcement officer devoted to investigating
counterfeit Indian arts and crafts. The board now
presents its cases to officers within the Interior
Department or other federal agencies.
The board, which operates on a $1 million budget,
devotes just under half of its funding to the museums.
She estimates they would have up to an additional
$400,000 for law enforcement if Congress allows the
change.
Selling fake Indian arts and crafts is a federal crime
with a penalty of up to $250,000 in fines and five
years in prison. But few people are ever charged. In
one of those rare cases, a Navajo woman pleaded guilty
in March to selling goods in New Mexico and Arizona
that she claimed were genuine Navajo rugs. She has not
been sentenced.
More often, those types of cases are seen as low
priorities for law enforcement officers who already
are stretched thin dealing with major crimes such as
homicides, rapes and methamphetamine sales, said Gary
Edwards, who heads the Native American Law Enforcement
Association.
"Many times, people don't see the negative impact
counterfeit arts and crafts have on native
communities, culture and the history of our nation,"
he said.
The Indian Arts and Crafts Board also works to combat
counterfeit Indian goods through education — teaching
customers what to look for through brochures, seminars
and advertisements.
That may be why they are seeing the number of
complaints about fake Indian goods steadily increase,
from less than 20 four years ago to nearly 100 this
year, said Ken Van Wey, who works on the board.
The counterfeit wares are an especially big problem
for tribes in the Southwest, said David Cloutier,
whose Southwest Association for Indian Arts puts
together the annual Santa Fe Indian market, the
largest American Indian arts show in the world.
"It's a serious issue, and it's one that has become
more and more blatant," he said.
Across the country, local leaders and artisans are
taking matters into their own hands, working to create
certification marks that guarantee customers they are
buying authentic goods.
It's a model that's been in place for decades in
Alaska, where officials promote a "Silver Hand" seal
to distinguish handcraft from Alaska Eskimos, Aleut or
other Indian artisans.
The counterfeit market literally robs native artists
of their ability to make a living because they often
live in rural areas where crafts can be among the few
only ways to earn cash, said L. Saunders McNeill, who
runs the program for the Alaska State Council on the
Arts.
Bird Rattler, from the Blackfeet Heritage Center, said
he recently stumbled on fake Indian arts and crafts
being sold at a Kalispell shop.
He left a note for the store's manager but does not
know if the goods are still there.
"We have people locally who can do that work so when
it's pawned off as native, yes, it is offensive," he
said.