Recently, the Indian Arts and Crafts Board has been under attack through Vermont newspapers for it’s stand in requiring artisans protected under the Act to be members of a Federal or State recognized tribe - and not individuals who self-identify as Indians and who are not members of a recognized tribe. Who are these individuals and organizations that have made the attacks?
My prediction if these groups continue to be appeased: about 2050: who will be considered *Indians*: the entire U.S. population!!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Fake Indian Writers appeal to preconceived notions of *Indian*
Going Native
Why do writers pretend to be Indians?
By David Treuer Posted Friday, March 7, 2008, at 6:43 PM ET
http://www.slate.com/id/2185856/pagenum/all/#page_start
Cigar-store Indian.
In 1930, shortly after the studio release of his movie The Silent Enemy, Buffalo Child Long Lance's Indian identity began to crumble. He was a celebrity by that time, having boxed Dempsey and dated movie stars, but he was not, it turned out, a full-blooded Blackfeet Indian who had been raised on the plains, as he had claimed. He had not hunted buffalo from horseback as the prairie winds blew through his hair. And his name was not actually Buffalo Child Long Lance. His real name was Sylvester Long. He was from Winston-Salem, N.C. He was African-American. And his father was not a chief but, rather, a janitor.
Margaret B. Jones, the author of Love and Consequences, is hardly the first person to have invented an Indian self and a past. Her memoir tells of her upbringing as a half-white, half-Indian foster child by a black family in South Central L.A. In fact, Jones' real name is Margaret Seltzer, she did not grow up in South Central, she's never been a foster child, and she's no more a Native American than Sylvester Long was.
By inventing a Native American heritage, Seltzer joins a long and distinguished list of fake Indians. In addition to Buffalo Child Long Lance, her tribe consists of Nasdijj (who fabricated a Native identity and passed it off in not one but three books: Geronimo's Bones, The Boy and the Dog Are Sleeping, and The Blood Runs Like a River Through My Dreams), Forrest Carter (whose fake Cherokee boyhood is described in The Education of Little Tree), and Grey Owl (the persona of the Englishman Archibald Belaney, who wrote and toured on the strength of his Indian-inspired conservationism between the World Wars).
It's easy enough to imagine what motivates literary fakers—their inventions are a way to win attention and acclaim for work that would otherwise be dismissed as pedestrian. But why pretend to be an Indian?What is so appealing about stripping off one's own identity and donning a reddish one?
It's easy to get away with it, is one reason. Indians can, and do, look like anyone. And anyone can look like an Indian. After 500 years of intermarriage, Native American racial identities (as opposed to cultural identities) comprise a wide range. Among my three siblings, one of us looks like Opie Taylor, one like Tonto, and one is a dead ringer for the Karate Kid. (I'm Opie. Opie is my spirit guide.) Then there's my sister, who looks like herself. It's pretty hard to claim you're African-American or Chinese if you don't look black or Asian.
But looks are only part of it. Native Americans make up one half of 1percent of the U.S. population. Most Americans will go their whole lives without meeting one of us. The result: What non-Indians know about Indians does not come from the kinds of daily interactions that typically shape their understandings of people different from them. We Native Americans are dwarfed by the ideas that abound about us, and this imbalance lends itself to invention. After all, who are you to say someone is or is not a thing they say they are if you've never had any experience of that thing?
But more important—more important than how we look or how invisible we are—the answer to why people fake being Indian is linked to how they fake it. Hemingway once wrote what he called the shortest story ever written: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." But I can think of one shorter by five words: "Indian." Wrapped up in that one word is a host of associations, images, and ideas, but primary among them is tragedy. It is no accident that all the fake books written by fake Indians (and most of the "real" books written by "real" Indians) are rife with tragedy.
Nabokov wrote that there are three kinds of stories that are utterly taboo as far as American publishers are concerned. In addition to the subject of Lolita, "the other two are: a Negro-White marriage which is a complete glorious success resulting in lots of children and grandchildren; and the total atheist who lives a happy and useful life, and dies in his sleep at the age of 106." I would add to that list one more: relatively happy Indians going about living relatively happy lives. Sometimes people ask what I am and I say, "Native American." And they reply: "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
Tragedy is a shortcut that sells, and the particular tragedy of being an Indian has an amazing ability to make readers lose their capacities to discern good writing from bad, interesting ideas from vapid ones.In Little Tree, for instance, the most commonplace things are elevated to the level of poetry by virtue of their perceived degree of Indian-ness: "They gave themselves to nature," he writes, "not trying to subdue it, or pervert it, but to live with it. And so they loved the thought, and loving it grew to be it, so that they could not think as the white man." Nasdijj and Carter truck in homilies, Jones in homies—as in, "I hated that they had taken my big homie and even more that they had taken my sense of security"—but the result is the same: awful, impossible writing. Once you remove the author's Indian identity, the bad writing reveals itself.
Sadly, until we break the habit of reading Indian lives as necessarily"Indian tragedies"—and see the shallow types and terrible prose and awkward, tragic poses for what they are—there will be more Indian fakes. The Education of Little Tree is still published by the University of New Mexico Press, the book's author still listed as Forrest Carter. Riverhead, at least, has pulled all the copies of Jones' fake. But they, and others, could do more. They could try to make sure this doesn't happen again.
It wouldn't be that difficult. If a publisher has an author who claims to be Native American, they could ask for documentation. And let this be a word of warning to publishers, agents, and editors: If the author does not say what tribe he or she is from or fails to claim an Indian community as home (either as a place of descent or youth or family), then something is wrong.
Seltzer did not commit a victimless crime. There are victims, and they are not Faye Bender, Seltzer's agent; or Sara McGrath, her editor at Riverhead; or Michiko Kakutani, who reviewed the book for the New York Times. They were taken advantage of, to be sure. But Bender will go on representing writers. McGrath will continue to find and publish wonderful books. Kakutani will continue to be a great reviewer. The real victims are Indian citizens and writers. People who have for so long been denied the opportunity to express themselves. There are many Indian writers with stories to tell that are ignored because they do not fit the preconceived notion of tragedy and cheap melodrama that make books like Love and Consequences so appealing. These writers, if they are published at all, are usually not profiled in the New York Times. As for Indian citizens, the more than 2 million of us living in the U.S. who are not fakes—our lives (especially if they are happy lives) will continue to go on unseen. This is the greater tragedy, I think, than the false ones outlined in Jones' false memoir.
Why do writers pretend to be Indians?
By David Treuer Posted Friday, March 7, 2008, at 6:43 PM ET
http://www.slate.com/id/2185856/pagenum/all/#page_start
Cigar-store Indian.
In 1930, shortly after the studio release of his movie The Silent Enemy, Buffalo Child Long Lance's Indian identity began to crumble. He was a celebrity by that time, having boxed Dempsey and dated movie stars, but he was not, it turned out, a full-blooded Blackfeet Indian who had been raised on the plains, as he had claimed. He had not hunted buffalo from horseback as the prairie winds blew through his hair. And his name was not actually Buffalo Child Long Lance. His real name was Sylvester Long. He was from Winston-Salem, N.C. He was African-American. And his father was not a chief but, rather, a janitor.
Margaret B. Jones, the author of Love and Consequences, is hardly the first person to have invented an Indian self and a past. Her memoir tells of her upbringing as a half-white, half-Indian foster child by a black family in South Central L.A. In fact, Jones' real name is Margaret Seltzer, she did not grow up in South Central, she's never been a foster child, and she's no more a Native American than Sylvester Long was.
By inventing a Native American heritage, Seltzer joins a long and distinguished list of fake Indians. In addition to Buffalo Child Long Lance, her tribe consists of Nasdijj (who fabricated a Native identity and passed it off in not one but three books: Geronimo's Bones, The Boy and the Dog Are Sleeping, and The Blood Runs Like a River Through My Dreams), Forrest Carter (whose fake Cherokee boyhood is described in The Education of Little Tree), and Grey Owl (the persona of the Englishman Archibald Belaney, who wrote and toured on the strength of his Indian-inspired conservationism between the World Wars).
It's easy enough to imagine what motivates literary fakers—their inventions are a way to win attention and acclaim for work that would otherwise be dismissed as pedestrian. But why pretend to be an Indian?What is so appealing about stripping off one's own identity and donning a reddish one?
It's easy to get away with it, is one reason. Indians can, and do, look like anyone. And anyone can look like an Indian. After 500 years of intermarriage, Native American racial identities (as opposed to cultural identities) comprise a wide range. Among my three siblings, one of us looks like Opie Taylor, one like Tonto, and one is a dead ringer for the Karate Kid. (I'm Opie. Opie is my spirit guide.) Then there's my sister, who looks like herself. It's pretty hard to claim you're African-American or Chinese if you don't look black or Asian.
But looks are only part of it. Native Americans make up one half of 1percent of the U.S. population. Most Americans will go their whole lives without meeting one of us. The result: What non-Indians know about Indians does not come from the kinds of daily interactions that typically shape their understandings of people different from them. We Native Americans are dwarfed by the ideas that abound about us, and this imbalance lends itself to invention. After all, who are you to say someone is or is not a thing they say they are if you've never had any experience of that thing?
But more important—more important than how we look or how invisible we are—the answer to why people fake being Indian is linked to how they fake it. Hemingway once wrote what he called the shortest story ever written: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." But I can think of one shorter by five words: "Indian." Wrapped up in that one word is a host of associations, images, and ideas, but primary among them is tragedy. It is no accident that all the fake books written by fake Indians (and most of the "real" books written by "real" Indians) are rife with tragedy.
Nabokov wrote that there are three kinds of stories that are utterly taboo as far as American publishers are concerned. In addition to the subject of Lolita, "the other two are: a Negro-White marriage which is a complete glorious success resulting in lots of children and grandchildren; and the total atheist who lives a happy and useful life, and dies in his sleep at the age of 106." I would add to that list one more: relatively happy Indians going about living relatively happy lives. Sometimes people ask what I am and I say, "Native American." And they reply: "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
Tragedy is a shortcut that sells, and the particular tragedy of being an Indian has an amazing ability to make readers lose their capacities to discern good writing from bad, interesting ideas from vapid ones.In Little Tree, for instance, the most commonplace things are elevated to the level of poetry by virtue of their perceived degree of Indian-ness: "They gave themselves to nature," he writes, "not trying to subdue it, or pervert it, but to live with it. And so they loved the thought, and loving it grew to be it, so that they could not think as the white man." Nasdijj and Carter truck in homilies, Jones in homies—as in, "I hated that they had taken my big homie and even more that they had taken my sense of security"—but the result is the same: awful, impossible writing. Once you remove the author's Indian identity, the bad writing reveals itself.
Sadly, until we break the habit of reading Indian lives as necessarily"Indian tragedies"—and see the shallow types and terrible prose and awkward, tragic poses for what they are—there will be more Indian fakes. The Education of Little Tree is still published by the University of New Mexico Press, the book's author still listed as Forrest Carter. Riverhead, at least, has pulled all the copies of Jones' fake. But they, and others, could do more. They could try to make sure this doesn't happen again.
It wouldn't be that difficult. If a publisher has an author who claims to be Native American, they could ask for documentation. And let this be a word of warning to publishers, agents, and editors: If the author does not say what tribe he or she is from or fails to claim an Indian community as home (either as a place of descent or youth or family), then something is wrong.
Seltzer did not commit a victimless crime. There are victims, and they are not Faye Bender, Seltzer's agent; or Sara McGrath, her editor at Riverhead; or Michiko Kakutani, who reviewed the book for the New York Times. They were taken advantage of, to be sure. But Bender will go on representing writers. McGrath will continue to find and publish wonderful books. Kakutani will continue to be a great reviewer. The real victims are Indian citizens and writers. People who have for so long been denied the opportunity to express themselves. There are many Indian writers with stories to tell that are ignored because they do not fit the preconceived notion of tragedy and cheap melodrama that make books like Love and Consequences so appealing. These writers, if they are published at all, are usually not profiled in the New York Times. As for Indian citizens, the more than 2 million of us living in the U.S. who are not fakes—our lives (especially if they are happy lives) will continue to go on unseen. This is the greater tragedy, I think, than the false ones outlined in Jones' false memoir.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Cherokee Artists Act in the Rules Committee
The Act passed unanimously out of the Rules Committee and now goes to the full council for a vote.
**************************
An Act
Legislative Act ___________
A LEGISLATIVE ACT REQUIRING TRUTH IN ADVERTISING FOR NATIVE ART
BE IT ENACTED BY THE CHEROKEE NATION:
Section 1. Title
This act shall be known as the “Cherokee Nation Truth in Advertising for Native Art” and codified as Title ______ Section ______ of the Cherokee Nation Code Annotated.
Section 2. Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to establish guidelines for the purchase, promotion and sale of genuine Native American arts and crafts within the Cherokee Nation and by Cherokee Nation entities. This Act is further intended to encourage and allow Cherokee artists to be diverse, creative as well as traditionally influenced and to continue the use of traditional materials as well as use new mediums.
Section 3. Legislative Authority
Article VI Section 7 of the Cherokee Nation Constitution states: “The Council shall have the power to establish laws which it shall deem necessary and proper for the good of the Nation, which shall not be contrary to the provisions of this Constitution. The style of all bills shall be: “Be It Enacted By the Cherokee Nation”. The Style of all resolutions shall be “Be It Resolved By the Cherokee Nation”.
Section 4. Definitions
(a) Art is an object or action that is made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the human mind and/or spirit regardless of any functional uses. For purposes of this act, Art also includes crafts, hand made items, traditional story telling, contemporary art or techniques oral histories, other performing arts and printed materials.
(b) Cherokee Nation means the government its agencies and instrumentalities including but not limited to Cherokee Nation Businesses, Cherokee Nation Enterprises, Cherokee Nation Industries and Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation, any component units of the Cherokee Nation and any entities in which the Cherokee Nation is the sole or majority stock holder or owner.
(c) Indian means a citizen or member, not individually adopted, of a federally recognized Indian entity evidenced under the “Federal Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994,” PL 103-454, November 2, 1994, 25 U.S.C. §479a, as amended.
(d) Indian Art means Art produced by an Indian.
(e) Indian Artist means an Indian who produces Art.
Section 5. Substantive Provisions
(a) The Cherokee Nation shall not knowingly offer for sale art that is produced by individuals who falsely claim, imply, or suggest that they are Indian.
(b) The Cherokee Nation shall not host, sponsor, fund, or otherwise devote or contribute any resource to Art exhibits allowing the exhibition of works by Artists who falsely claim, imply, or suggest that they are Indian.
(c) The Tribal Employment Rights Office (T.E.R.O.) shall maintain a voluntary registry of Cherokee Artists and their contact information.
(d) The Principal Chief shall cause to be published an inventory of all Indian art owned by the Cherokee Nation, and such listing shall be accessible to the public.
(e) The Principal Chief shall cause to be developed a label or other form of identification to be placed upon or with any Indian Art or Craft sold by the Cherokee Nation or its entities. This is to ensure and identify the object being sold as authentic Indian Art.
Section 6. Provisions as cumulative
The provisions of this act shall be cumulative to existing law.
Section 7. Severability
The provisions of this act are severable and if any part of provision hereof shall be held void the decision of the court so holding shall not affect or impair any of the remaining parts or provisions of this act.
Section 8. Effective Date
This act shall become effective sixty (60) days after its passage in accordance with the Cherokee Nation Constitution.
Enacted by the Council of the Cherokee Nation on the _____________day of _________, 200__.
___________________________________
Meredith Frailey, Speaker
Council of the Cherokee Nation
ATTEST:
_________________________________
Don Garvin, Secretary
Council of the Cherokee Nation
Approved and signed by the Principal Chief this day of______________, 200___.
_________________________________
Chadwick Smith, Principal Chief
Cherokee Nation
ATTEST:
_________________________________
Melanie Knight, Secretary of State
Cherokee Nation
Cara Cowan Watts
Cherokee Nation Tribal Council
District 7 - Will Rogers
P.O. Box 2922
Claremore, OK 74018
C: 918 752-4342
F: 918 341-3753
Email: cara@caracowan.com
Url: http://www.caracowan.com
**************************
An Act
Legislative Act ___________
A LEGISLATIVE ACT REQUIRING TRUTH IN ADVERTISING FOR NATIVE ART
BE IT ENACTED BY THE CHEROKEE NATION:
Section 1. Title
This act shall be known as the “Cherokee Nation Truth in Advertising for Native Art” and codified as Title ______ Section ______ of the Cherokee Nation Code Annotated.
Section 2. Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to establish guidelines for the purchase, promotion and sale of genuine Native American arts and crafts within the Cherokee Nation and by Cherokee Nation entities. This Act is further intended to encourage and allow Cherokee artists to be diverse, creative as well as traditionally influenced and to continue the use of traditional materials as well as use new mediums.
Section 3. Legislative Authority
Article VI Section 7 of the Cherokee Nation Constitution states: “The Council shall have the power to establish laws which it shall deem necessary and proper for the good of the Nation, which shall not be contrary to the provisions of this Constitution. The style of all bills shall be: “Be It Enacted By the Cherokee Nation”. The Style of all resolutions shall be “Be It Resolved By the Cherokee Nation”.
Section 4. Definitions
(a) Art is an object or action that is made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the human mind and/or spirit regardless of any functional uses. For purposes of this act, Art also includes crafts, hand made items, traditional story telling, contemporary art or techniques oral histories, other performing arts and printed materials.
(b) Cherokee Nation means the government its agencies and instrumentalities including but not limited to Cherokee Nation Businesses, Cherokee Nation Enterprises, Cherokee Nation Industries and Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation, any component units of the Cherokee Nation and any entities in which the Cherokee Nation is the sole or majority stock holder or owner.
(c) Indian means a citizen or member, not individually adopted, of a federally recognized Indian entity evidenced under the “Federal Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994,” PL 103-454, November 2, 1994, 25 U.S.C. §479a, as amended.
(d) Indian Art means Art produced by an Indian.
(e) Indian Artist means an Indian who produces Art.
Section 5. Substantive Provisions
(a) The Cherokee Nation shall not knowingly offer for sale art that is produced by individuals who falsely claim, imply, or suggest that they are Indian.
(b) The Cherokee Nation shall not host, sponsor, fund, or otherwise devote or contribute any resource to Art exhibits allowing the exhibition of works by Artists who falsely claim, imply, or suggest that they are Indian.
(c) The Tribal Employment Rights Office (T.E.R.O.) shall maintain a voluntary registry of Cherokee Artists and their contact information.
(d) The Principal Chief shall cause to be published an inventory of all Indian art owned by the Cherokee Nation, and such listing shall be accessible to the public.
(e) The Principal Chief shall cause to be developed a label or other form of identification to be placed upon or with any Indian Art or Craft sold by the Cherokee Nation or its entities. This is to ensure and identify the object being sold as authentic Indian Art.
Section 6. Provisions as cumulative
The provisions of this act shall be cumulative to existing law.
Section 7. Severability
The provisions of this act are severable and if any part of provision hereof shall be held void the decision of the court so holding shall not affect or impair any of the remaining parts or provisions of this act.
Section 8. Effective Date
This act shall become effective sixty (60) days after its passage in accordance with the Cherokee Nation Constitution.
Enacted by the Council of the Cherokee Nation on the _____________day of _________, 200__.
___________________________________
Meredith Frailey, Speaker
Council of the Cherokee Nation
ATTEST:
_________________________________
Don Garvin, Secretary
Council of the Cherokee Nation
Approved and signed by the Principal Chief this day of______________, 200___.
_________________________________
Chadwick Smith, Principal Chief
Cherokee Nation
ATTEST:
_________________________________
Melanie Knight, Secretary of State
Cherokee Nation
Cara Cowan Watts
Cherokee Nation Tribal Council
District 7 - Will Rogers
P.O. Box 2922
Claremore, OK 74018
C: 918 752-4342
F: 918 341-3753
Email: cara@caracowan.com
Url: http://www.caracowan.com
Cherokee Arts and Humanities Council seeks assimilation through the Indian Arts
A Response to the “Cherokee Nation Arts and Crafts Authenticity Act of 2007” being proposed before the Cherokee Nation Council
Introduction:
This desire to define what constitutes "authentic" Indian art really comes down to a need to control the imagery and vision of Indian artists at times. As for legitimate fears of invasions against Cherokee artist and their works we can rely on the American Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 to protect Cherokee artist (The Act makes it unlawful to offer or display for sale or sell any good in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian, or Indian tribe, or Indian arts and crafts organization resident within the United States). To protect their monetary interest in the C.N. we can rely on the Nation not to purchase art by those without membership in a federally recognized Cherokee tribe.
In an essay titled "What is Native American Art?" Edwin Wade writes: "Vital arts change. If ever we should succeed in truly defining Indian art, that definition would be an epitaph. But if we remove the restraints of stereotype and allow the creative impetus full rein, we can observe the development of an exciting art that draws on the richness of its own past as it continually recreates itself for the future.”
It is the cumulative opinion of the board of directors of the Cherokee Arts & Humanities Council, Inc. that Native visual arts and humanities, like Native cultures generally, have evolved through the course of the twentieth century. From paintings of daily life, to depictions of ceremonial events, to the visualizations of myth, to meditations on nature, to self-reflection, to political analyses; from figuration to abstraction, to installation and performance, the development of Native art is a record of tribal histories and communities filtered through the alembic of individual perception, and NOT through the legislative processes of a government.
We Believe:
We believe Cherokee government and its entities, the public sector, and private sector have an obligation to make investments in creativity and cultural heritage, the arts and humanities; that the arts and humanities are an investment in the education of our Cherokee children, in the well being of our communities, in the strength of our economy, and in sharing a better understanding of what it is to be culturally and traditionally Cherokee at home and throughout the world. We believe our community should avoid using the term “wannabe.” As we believe using the terms “legitimate” and “genuine” to validate people’s identity and work is dangerous. We believe the greater good can be achieved by educating everyone and the art community will prosper accordingly. We believe there are many identities, values and variances within the art community, which we strive to reflect.
We support:
a.) Alternative, community-based systems treating neither the artwork nor the artist as a commodity.
b.) Eliminating all laws which seek to restrict or censor artistic expression, including withholding of government funds for political or moral content.
c.) Increased funding for the arts appropriate to their essential social role at all levels of government: Local, State, Tribal and Federal.
d.) Community-funded programs employing local artists to enrich their communities through public art programs. These could include, but would not be limited to, public performances, exhibitions, murals on public buildings, design or re-design of parks and public areas, storytelling and poetry reading, and publication of local writers.
e.) The establishment of non-profit public forums for local artists to display their talents and creations. Research, public dialogue, and trial experiments to develop alternative systems for the valuation and exchange of artworks and for the financial support of artists (e.g. community subscriber support groups, artwork rental units, cooperative support systems among artists, legal or financial incentives to donate to the arts or to donate artworks to the Cherokee National Museum, or other Cherokee museum).
f.) Responsible choices of non-toxic, renewable, or recyclable materials and choosing funding sources not connected with social injustice or environmental destruction.
g.) Education programs in the community that will energize the creativity of every community member from the youngest to the oldest, including neglected groups such as teenagers, senior citizens, etc. These programs would provide materials and access to interested, qualified arts educators to every member of the community who demonstrates an interest.
h.) Incorporating arts education studies and activities into every school curriculum with appropriate funding and staffing. We also encourage local artists and the community to contribute time, experience, and resources to these efforts.
i.) Diversity in arts education in the schools, including age-specific hands-on activities and appreciative theoretical approaches, exposure to the arts of Cherokee culture and stylistic tradition, and experience with a variety of media, techniques and contents.
j.) The integration of the arts and artistic teaching methods into other areas of the curriculum to promote a holistic perspective.
Introduction:
This desire to define what constitutes "authentic" Indian art really comes down to a need to control the imagery and vision of Indian artists at times. As for legitimate fears of invasions against Cherokee artist and their works we can rely on the American Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 to protect Cherokee artist (The Act makes it unlawful to offer or display for sale or sell any good in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian, or Indian tribe, or Indian arts and crafts organization resident within the United States). To protect their monetary interest in the C.N. we can rely on the Nation not to purchase art by those without membership in a federally recognized Cherokee tribe.
In an essay titled "What is Native American Art?" Edwin Wade writes: "Vital arts change. If ever we should succeed in truly defining Indian art, that definition would be an epitaph. But if we remove the restraints of stereotype and allow the creative impetus full rein, we can observe the development of an exciting art that draws on the richness of its own past as it continually recreates itself for the future.”
It is the cumulative opinion of the board of directors of the Cherokee Arts & Humanities Council, Inc. that Native visual arts and humanities, like Native cultures generally, have evolved through the course of the twentieth century. From paintings of daily life, to depictions of ceremonial events, to the visualizations of myth, to meditations on nature, to self-reflection, to political analyses; from figuration to abstraction, to installation and performance, the development of Native art is a record of tribal histories and communities filtered through the alembic of individual perception, and NOT through the legislative processes of a government.
We Believe:
We believe Cherokee government and its entities, the public sector, and private sector have an obligation to make investments in creativity and cultural heritage, the arts and humanities; that the arts and humanities are an investment in the education of our Cherokee children, in the well being of our communities, in the strength of our economy, and in sharing a better understanding of what it is to be culturally and traditionally Cherokee at home and throughout the world. We believe our community should avoid using the term “wannabe.” As we believe using the terms “legitimate” and “genuine” to validate people’s identity and work is dangerous. We believe the greater good can be achieved by educating everyone and the art community will prosper accordingly. We believe there are many identities, values and variances within the art community, which we strive to reflect.
We support:
a.) Alternative, community-based systems treating neither the artwork nor the artist as a commodity.
b.) Eliminating all laws which seek to restrict or censor artistic expression, including withholding of government funds for political or moral content.
c.) Increased funding for the arts appropriate to their essential social role at all levels of government: Local, State, Tribal and Federal.
d.) Community-funded programs employing local artists to enrich their communities through public art programs. These could include, but would not be limited to, public performances, exhibitions, murals on public buildings, design or re-design of parks and public areas, storytelling and poetry reading, and publication of local writers.
e.) The establishment of non-profit public forums for local artists to display their talents and creations. Research, public dialogue, and trial experiments to develop alternative systems for the valuation and exchange of artworks and for the financial support of artists (e.g. community subscriber support groups, artwork rental units, cooperative support systems among artists, legal or financial incentives to donate to the arts or to donate artworks to the Cherokee National Museum, or other Cherokee museum).
f.) Responsible choices of non-toxic, renewable, or recyclable materials and choosing funding sources not connected with social injustice or environmental destruction.
g.) Education programs in the community that will energize the creativity of every community member from the youngest to the oldest, including neglected groups such as teenagers, senior citizens, etc. These programs would provide materials and access to interested, qualified arts educators to every member of the community who demonstrates an interest.
h.) Incorporating arts education studies and activities into every school curriculum with appropriate funding and staffing. We also encourage local artists and the community to contribute time, experience, and resources to these efforts.
i.) Diversity in arts education in the schools, including age-specific hands-on activities and appreciative theoretical approaches, exposure to the arts of Cherokee culture and stylistic tradition, and experience with a variety of media, techniques and contents.
j.) The integration of the arts and artistic teaching methods into other areas of the curriculum to promote a holistic perspective.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Fake Indian Art - some guides
These are places and articles where you can find more information on how to determine if an item is an authentic piece of Indian Art Work or a fake.
Imitation may be the price of success,but it can be deadly
Sophisticated knock-offs manufactured abroad threaten the legitimate Indian arts and crafts industry.
Indian Arts and Crafts Association
Collector's guide to Authentic Indian Arts
Imitation may be the price of success,but it can be deadly
Sophisticated knock-offs manufactured abroad threaten the legitimate Indian arts and crafts industry.
Indian Arts and Crafts Association
Collector's guide to Authentic Indian Arts
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Changing Winds
Changing Winds is a Native American organization that works with Native Tribes to prevent the misuse of funding by Non Tribal members in the Public School system.
This is not the only type of work they do, but misuse of Title VII funds has become a real problem within the public school system and which takes needed funding from Native American Tribes.
The public schools promote non tribal members in order to obtain funding for Native American programs within their schools.
If a person is a non tribal member, there is usually a reason, some of which include, inability to prove their Indian lines or blood quantum requirements of the tribes or an inability to prove one's family line back to a specific tribal roll. The most common is an inability to prove a *family story* that one is of Indian descent. It is unfortunate that some families particularly of Mexican/Spanish descent, felt the need to claim they were Indian to prevent discrimination in early years, however, in most cases, these claims by the time they got to the 3rd or 4th generation of the *stories beginnings* were taken as truth.
To allow these same individuals to promulgate the same illusion *of Indian Descent* through our public school system is even more unfortunate.
This is not the only type of work they do, but misuse of Title VII funds has become a real problem within the public school system and which takes needed funding from Native American Tribes.
The public schools promote non tribal members in order to obtain funding for Native American programs within their schools.
If a person is a non tribal member, there is usually a reason, some of which include, inability to prove their Indian lines or blood quantum requirements of the tribes or an inability to prove one's family line back to a specific tribal roll. The most common is an inability to prove a *family story* that one is of Indian descent. It is unfortunate that some families particularly of Mexican/Spanish descent, felt the need to claim they were Indian to prevent discrimination in early years, however, in most cases, these claims by the time they got to the 3rd or 4th generation of the *stories beginnings* were taken as truth.
To allow these same individuals to promulgate the same illusion *of Indian Descent* through our public school system is even more unfortunate.
Wall of Shame - Non Registered *Indians*
This is a listing of folks who sell their *Indian* products but are not registered with a tribe, i.e. they have no tribal numbers. They imply that they are authentic Indian by claiming Indian Descent:
Murv Jacob and Debbie Duval - this gentleman claims descent from a group of Kentucky Cherokees - neither state nor federally recognized
Robin McBride Scott - she claims to not sell her art work - but claims to be a *Cherokee Artist* - more photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rivercanegirl/
Jackie Carlson - this lady doesn't even claim Indian descent - but apparently associates herself with Peggy Brennen, who is a registered Cherokee and Robin McBride Scott to give her work *Authentic Cherokee* status.
Murv Jacob and Debbie Duval - this gentleman claims descent from a group of Kentucky Cherokees - neither state nor federally recognized
Robin McBride Scott - she claims to not sell her art work - but claims to be a *Cherokee Artist* - more photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rivercanegirl/
Jackie Carlson - this lady doesn't even claim Indian descent - but apparently associates herself with Peggy Brennen, who is a registered Cherokee and Robin McBride Scott to give her work *Authentic Cherokee* status.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Is it worth the risk?
Crackdown on Fake Indian Arts and Crafts
Sep 25, 2007 05:22 PM
http://www.kswo.com/Global/story.asp?S=7125989
WASHINGTON, D.C--Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said today that a recent jury verdict is an example of an ongoing crackdown on sales of fake Indian arts and crafts led by the Department of the Interior Indian Arts and Crafts Board.
A jury in Gallup, New Mexico, convicted local arts dealer Amro Al-Assi of fraud on August 16, 2007. The Board is currently conducting other investigations into those who sell counterfeit American Indian arts and crafts.
"This verdict should send a strong message to the Indian arts and crafts marketplace and to the buying public that sales of counterfeit or otherwise misrepresented Indian arts and crafts to consumers will not be tolerated," said Kempthorne. "Such fraudulent sales are eroding the market for authentic Indian work."
Al-Assi, then co-owner and manager of the Silver Bear Trading Company in downtown Gallup, was convicted of selling a counterfeit bracelet as the work of a well-known Navajo jeweler, Jesse Monongya, whose original works command high prices in the market.
The purchaser of the bracelet had originally filed a complaint with the Board at Interior. The Board enforces the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, a federal truth-in-marketing law that prohibits the sale of arts or crafts that are counterfeit or falsely represented as American Indian or Native American made, or as the product of a particular individual Indian artisan, unless the item was produced by a member of a federally or officially state recognized Indian Tribe.
The Board collaborated with Interior's Office of Inspector General, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Gallup, New Mexico, to launch a joint investigation. By collaborating with the Eleventh Judicial Division II District Attorney's Office in Gallup, District Attorney Karl R. Gillson's office ultimately chose to prosecute the case under its state fraud statute.
"McKinley County District Attorney Karl Gilson and his staff are to be highly commended for their outstanding expertise, dedication, and hard work to obtain this important conviction. The Board is continuing to receive additional information regarding fraudulent activity in the Indian arts and crafts market, and we are pursuing other investigations," said the Board Director Meridith Stanton.
DA Gillson said that there was "no room to plead this down to anything less than a felony" but to take it to trial and let the local community of jurors hear and decide Al-Assi's fate. Gillson said, "Clearly, the jury sent the message that maintaining the integrity of communities and of the Native American arts and crafts industry is vital and important to the Indian peoples' livelihood and the communities' economic endurance." Mr. Gillson said that his office "will continue to collaborate with the Indian Arts and Crafts Board and other federal and state law enforcement agencies to combat this tide."
Most recently an agreement between Interior and the FBI was finalized that authorizes all appropriate Interior law enforcement professionals, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management, to investigate complaints filed under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act.
(U.S. Department of the Interior)
Sep 25, 2007 05:22 PM
http://www.kswo.com/Global/story.asp?S=7125989
WASHINGTON, D.C--Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said today that a recent jury verdict is an example of an ongoing crackdown on sales of fake Indian arts and crafts led by the Department of the Interior Indian Arts and Crafts Board.
A jury in Gallup, New Mexico, convicted local arts dealer Amro Al-Assi of fraud on August 16, 2007. The Board is currently conducting other investigations into those who sell counterfeit American Indian arts and crafts.
"This verdict should send a strong message to the Indian arts and crafts marketplace and to the buying public that sales of counterfeit or otherwise misrepresented Indian arts and crafts to consumers will not be tolerated," said Kempthorne. "Such fraudulent sales are eroding the market for authentic Indian work."
Al-Assi, then co-owner and manager of the Silver Bear Trading Company in downtown Gallup, was convicted of selling a counterfeit bracelet as the work of a well-known Navajo jeweler, Jesse Monongya, whose original works command high prices in the market.
The purchaser of the bracelet had originally filed a complaint with the Board at Interior. The Board enforces the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, a federal truth-in-marketing law that prohibits the sale of arts or crafts that are counterfeit or falsely represented as American Indian or Native American made, or as the product of a particular individual Indian artisan, unless the item was produced by a member of a federally or officially state recognized Indian Tribe.
The Board collaborated with Interior's Office of Inspector General, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Gallup, New Mexico, to launch a joint investigation. By collaborating with the Eleventh Judicial Division II District Attorney's Office in Gallup, District Attorney Karl R. Gillson's office ultimately chose to prosecute the case under its state fraud statute.
"McKinley County District Attorney Karl Gilson and his staff are to be highly commended for their outstanding expertise, dedication, and hard work to obtain this important conviction. The Board is continuing to receive additional information regarding fraudulent activity in the Indian arts and crafts market, and we are pursuing other investigations," said the Board Director Meridith Stanton.
DA Gillson said that there was "no room to plead this down to anything less than a felony" but to take it to trial and let the local community of jurors hear and decide Al-Assi's fate. Gillson said, "Clearly, the jury sent the message that maintaining the integrity of communities and of the Native American arts and crafts industry is vital and important to the Indian peoples' livelihood and the communities' economic endurance." Mr. Gillson said that his office "will continue to collaborate with the Indian Arts and Crafts Board and other federal and state law enforcement agencies to combat this tide."
Most recently an agreement between Interior and the FBI was finalized that authorizes all appropriate Interior law enforcement professionals, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management, to investigate complaints filed under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act.
(U.S. Department of the Interior)
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Smithsonian Names New Director
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hk1YE88em4kDv3mdAHCTP70IhnVQ
Law Professor to Lead Indian Museum
WASHINGTON (AP) — A law professor from Arizona was named director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indianon Tuesday.
Kevin Gover, a member of the Pawnee tribe, will succeed founding director W. Richard West Jr., who led years of planning for the museum and its first three years of operation. West announced his resignationin October 2006 and will leave the museum in November.
Gover, 52, grew up in Oklahoma and currently serves as a professor of law at Arizona State University. He also is co-director of the university's American Indian Policy Institute and an affiliate professor in its American Indian studies program.
Gover said he is honored to lead the Smithsonian museum and will start work Dec. 2.
"The museum's mission of educating the public about living Native cultures is an important and challenging one, and I am grateful for the opportunity," Gover said in a statement.
President Clinton appointed Gover to serve as assistant secretary for Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1997 to 2000. He oversaw programs including Indian education, law enforcement, social services and treaty rights. He also practiced law for 15 years in Albuquerque, N.M., and Washington.
Acting Smithsonian Secretary Cristian Samper said Gover's experience in Washington and with Indian communities and his knowledge of history and culture will help bring the museum's resources to the broadest possible audience.
On the Net:
National Museum of the American Indian:
http://www.nmai.si.edu/
Law Professor to Lead Indian Museum
WASHINGTON (AP) — A law professor from Arizona was named director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indianon Tuesday.
Kevin Gover, a member of the Pawnee tribe, will succeed founding director W. Richard West Jr., who led years of planning for the museum and its first three years of operation. West announced his resignationin October 2006 and will leave the museum in November.
Gover, 52, grew up in Oklahoma and currently serves as a professor of law at Arizona State University. He also is co-director of the university's American Indian Policy Institute and an affiliate professor in its American Indian studies program.
Gover said he is honored to lead the Smithsonian museum and will start work Dec. 2.
"The museum's mission of educating the public about living Native cultures is an important and challenging one, and I am grateful for the opportunity," Gover said in a statement.
President Clinton appointed Gover to serve as assistant secretary for Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1997 to 2000. He oversaw programs including Indian education, law enforcement, social services and treaty rights. He also practiced law for 15 years in Albuquerque, N.M., and Washington.
Acting Smithsonian Secretary Cristian Samper said Gover's experience in Washington and with Indian communities and his knowledge of history and culture will help bring the museum's resources to the broadest possible audience.
On the Net:
National Museum of the American Indian:
http://www.nmai.si.edu/
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Smithsonian - Native Arts Program
The Smithsonian has recently awarded a Visiting Artists grant to a lady out of Indiana who *claims* to be Cherokee, but who is not even a registered tribal member with any of the Federally Recognized Cherokee Tribes, Oklahoma, North Carolina or UKB. She does however, belong to a *Cherokee Group* in Indiana, that at one time tried and failed to get Federal Recognition. This grant then allows a non Indian to paw through many treasured Indian artifacts.
How can this be you ask? Well we're wondering that as well.
These are the Qualifications for the grant:
"Who is eligible to apply? Native artists from the Western Hemisphere and Hawai‘i who are recognized by their community, have at least ten years of experience, and can demonstrate significant artistic accomplishments. Artists working in any media (visual arts, media arts, performance arts, literature, etc.) are eligible to apply."
The Smithsonian does not have any requirement that this *Artist* have a Tribal Registration Number or Letter from their Tribe that they are a member or non member artist.
As many registered tribal members know, there are a great many people who *claim* Indian heritage but have no proof that they are even Indian. There is a growing number of groups *claiming* to be Indian, as well as the selling of tribal memberships to illegal immigrants. These groups in turn then apply for Title VII grants through the public schools, again without any proof of tribal membership, just that *they have some type of story that they are Indian*. The Schools actually send out information telling parents they only need to have this *story* they are Indian to enroll their children in these Title VII programs.
This type of conduct on the part of the federal government and federal institutions such as the Smithsonian is a slap in the face to Indians and Indian Artists. This is a modern day case of the Cherokee Nation vs Georgia, where the whites came in and claimed the Cherokee's home land and the federal government just stood by and watched and then forcibly removed the South Eastern Indians from their home to the North Eastern part of Oklahoma. This is just another way to decimate and destroy the Indian Culture.
Credible Indian grant or scholarship programs make these the required proof to show Indian Blood:
1. A Card issued by a Tribal Council
2. A letter from the Tribal Council
3. Definite proof of a parent belonging to a tribe and applicant's birth certificate with exact names.
You'll notice that in 1 and 3 require some type of evidence that the applicant is indeed a member of a tribe or Indian and 2 requires confirmation by a tribe the applicant is an Indian.
As you may know, there are many families that have *stories* that they are *part* Indian or there is an Indian ancestor in their line, however, unless this is provable, that elusive Indian ancestry remains a myth.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of the Native Americans has no credibility, are you really viewing Native American artifacts there or are you viewing a claim of Indian artifacts. Or do they even care?
The Smithsonian would be well advised to revisit and revise it's requirements for these grants.
Apparently as long as she doesn't *sell* any products the IACB has no jurisdiction to prevent anyone from calling themselves a Native American Artist, in this case a Cherokee Artist.
I find it extremely strange that an artist would do work and then not *sell it*.
The IACB likewise would be well advised to extend their guidelines and regulations of who is an Indian Artist to all those calling themselves an *Indian Artist*.
It does not appear that either the Smithsonian or the IACB is preserving the Art of the American Indian.
Support Authentic Cherokee Art - ask for the Artist's Tribal registration number before you buy!!
Cherokee Style, Cherokee Heritage and Cherokee Descent all mean non Indian!
For more information and help or to file a complaint on these or any of the growing issues with these *Indian Groups* contact:
Changing Winds - Fraudulent Tribes And The Damage They Cause
National Congress of American Indians - Is your tribe real? Both state and federal recognized tribes are listed here. If it's not listed here your tribe is a fake.
For authentic Cherokee Art and Artists:
Cherokee Basket Weaver's Association
Cherokee Basketweaving Books
Cherokee Artists Association
Cherokees of Orange County
How can this be you ask? Well we're wondering that as well.
These are the Qualifications for the grant:
"Who is eligible to apply? Native artists from the Western Hemisphere and Hawai‘i who are recognized by their community, have at least ten years of experience, and can demonstrate significant artistic accomplishments. Artists working in any media (visual arts, media arts, performance arts, literature, etc.) are eligible to apply."
The Smithsonian does not have any requirement that this *Artist* have a Tribal Registration Number or Letter from their Tribe that they are a member or non member artist.
As many registered tribal members know, there are a great many people who *claim* Indian heritage but have no proof that they are even Indian. There is a growing number of groups *claiming* to be Indian, as well as the selling of tribal memberships to illegal immigrants. These groups in turn then apply for Title VII grants through the public schools, again without any proof of tribal membership, just that *they have some type of story that they are Indian*. The Schools actually send out information telling parents they only need to have this *story* they are Indian to enroll their children in these Title VII programs.
This type of conduct on the part of the federal government and federal institutions such as the Smithsonian is a slap in the face to Indians and Indian Artists. This is a modern day case of the Cherokee Nation vs Georgia, where the whites came in and claimed the Cherokee's home land and the federal government just stood by and watched and then forcibly removed the South Eastern Indians from their home to the North Eastern part of Oklahoma. This is just another way to decimate and destroy the Indian Culture.
Credible Indian grant or scholarship programs make these the required proof to show Indian Blood:
1. A Card issued by a Tribal Council
2. A letter from the Tribal Council
3. Definite proof of a parent belonging to a tribe and applicant's birth certificate with exact names.
You'll notice that in 1 and 3 require some type of evidence that the applicant is indeed a member of a tribe or Indian and 2 requires confirmation by a tribe the applicant is an Indian.
As you may know, there are many families that have *stories* that they are *part* Indian or there is an Indian ancestor in their line, however, unless this is provable, that elusive Indian ancestry remains a myth.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of the Native Americans has no credibility, are you really viewing Native American artifacts there or are you viewing a claim of Indian artifacts. Or do they even care?
The Smithsonian would be well advised to revisit and revise it's requirements for these grants.
Apparently as long as she doesn't *sell* any products the IACB has no jurisdiction to prevent anyone from calling themselves a Native American Artist, in this case a Cherokee Artist.
I find it extremely strange that an artist would do work and then not *sell it*.
The IACB likewise would be well advised to extend their guidelines and regulations of who is an Indian Artist to all those calling themselves an *Indian Artist*.
It does not appear that either the Smithsonian or the IACB is preserving the Art of the American Indian.
Support Authentic Cherokee Art - ask for the Artist's Tribal registration number before you buy!!
Cherokee Style, Cherokee Heritage and Cherokee Descent all mean non Indian!
For more information and help or to file a complaint on these or any of the growing issues with these *Indian Groups* contact:
Changing Winds - Fraudulent Tribes And The Damage They Cause
National Congress of American Indians - Is your tribe real? Both state and federal recognized tribes are listed here. If it's not listed here your tribe is a fake.
For authentic Cherokee Art and Artists:
Cherokee Basket Weaver's Association
Cherokee Basketweaving Books
Cherokee Artists Association
Cherokees of Orange County
Saturday, September 24, 2005
IACB and the Federal Trade Commission
American Indian Arts and Crafts "Surf Day"
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) of the U.S. Department of the Interior have joined forces to combat the deceptive marketing of arts and crafts products as made by American Indians. Representatives from both agencies have surfed the Internet to locate websites that advertise American Indian arts and crafts. After identifying approximately 425 sites that appear to market American Indian arts and crafts as authentic, the FTC staff and IACB notified each site operator that the law prohibits false representations about the origin of arts and crafts, and cautioned site operators that all ad claims must be truthful and non-deceptive, and urged them to immediately remove any untrue or deceptive claims.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) of the U.S. Department of the Interior have joined forces to combat the deceptive marketing of arts and crafts products as made by American Indians. Representatives from both agencies have surfed the Internet to locate websites that advertise American Indian arts and crafts. After identifying approximately 425 sites that appear to market American Indian arts and crafts as authentic, the FTC staff and IACB notified each site operator that the law prohibits false representations about the origin of arts and crafts, and cautioned site operators that all ad claims must be truthful and non-deceptive, and urged them to immediately remove any untrue or deceptive claims.
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Tuesday, September 13, 2005
IACB response to questions
Regarding your questions about the Indian Arts and Crafts Board Certification program and Source Directory listing opportunities, we are sending a Fact Sheet - Trademark, Certification, and Copyright, U.S. Patent and Trademark handout on registering trademarks, and a Source Directory questionnaire to the address listed in your email.
As a reminder, in order to be eligible for the Board Certification program,
1) an enterprise (group or individual) must have a registered trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,
2) must offer for sale only genuine Indian (federally recognized), as defined by the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, handcraft products,
3) must be entirely Indian (federally recognized), Indian, as defined by the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, owned and controlled, and
4) must agree to apply certificates only to such products that meet the standards of quality agreed to by the Board at the time of application for certification.
Regarding your questions about labeling and representing art or craftwork at shows and exhibitions, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act is essentially a truth in advertising law that requires the seller to honestly represent the work being displayed, or offered, for sale, or sold. It is advisable to properly label all the art and crafts items you are making available to the public. It is also advisable to separate the Indian made from the nonIndian made art or craft work that might appear to be Indian made, or that is made in the style of an Indian art or craft product , to avoid consumer confusion or the potential for deception. There is no category that we are aware of for "known in the Indian Community", but I would avoid terms that might mislead the consumer into thinking they are buying an Indian made product.
Lastly, in response to your question about "Cherokee Style", it may simply mean that the weaver was inspired by a Cherokee basket. However, if a basket is sold as Cherokee, it must be made by an enrolled member of an officially recognized State or federally recognized Cherokee Tribe. Again, in labeling, all efforts should be made to avoid consumer confusion or the potential for deception.
Sincerely,
Michele Hill
Indian Arts and Crafts Board
IACB@ios.doi.gov
As a reminder, in order to be eligible for the Board Certification program,
1) an enterprise (group or individual) must have a registered trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,
2) must offer for sale only genuine Indian (federally recognized), as defined by the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, handcraft products,
3) must be entirely Indian (federally recognized), Indian, as defined by the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, owned and controlled, and
4) must agree to apply certificates only to such products that meet the standards of quality agreed to by the Board at the time of application for certification.
Regarding your questions about labeling and representing art or craftwork at shows and exhibitions, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act is essentially a truth in advertising law that requires the seller to honestly represent the work being displayed, or offered, for sale, or sold. It is advisable to properly label all the art and crafts items you are making available to the public. It is also advisable to separate the Indian made from the nonIndian made art or craft work that might appear to be Indian made, or that is made in the style of an Indian art or craft product , to avoid consumer confusion or the potential for deception. There is no category that we are aware of for "known in the Indian Community", but I would avoid terms that might mislead the consumer into thinking they are buying an Indian made product.
Lastly, in response to your question about "Cherokee Style", it may simply mean that the weaver was inspired by a Cherokee basket. However, if a basket is sold as Cherokee, it must be made by an enrolled member of an officially recognized State or federally recognized Cherokee Tribe. Again, in labeling, all efforts should be made to avoid consumer confusion or the potential for deception.
Sincerely,
Michele Hill
Indian Arts and Crafts Board
IACB@ios.doi.gov
Saturday, August 27, 2005
IACA applies to all marketing activities
Definition of Indian Artisan, Section 309.2(b)
Several respondents suggested that the definition of Indian artisan should be clarified to read ``an individual who is certified by an Indian tribe as its non-member artisan.'' This clarification has been adopted with a minor modification.
Definition of Indian Arts and Crafts Organization, Section 309.2(c)
Two respondents asked whether section 309.2(c) operates to exclude marketing entities, other than Indian arts and crafts organizations, from the law and regulations. Several others asserted that the definition of Indian arts and crafts organization should include any organization set up under tribal law, custom or authority, as well as under any other legal authority.
The Act broadly applies to the marketing of arts and crafts by any person in the United States. The reference to Indian arts and crafts organization as a protected group is not intended to suggest that the Act's regulation does not apply to all marketing activities. In addition, the Act's requirement that an Indian arts and crafts organization be legally established in order to meet the definition includes tribal law.
Several respondents suggested that the definition of Indian artisan should be clarified to read ``an individual who is certified by an Indian tribe as its non-member artisan.'' This clarification has been adopted with a minor modification.
Definition of Indian Arts and Crafts Organization, Section 309.2(c)
Two respondents asked whether section 309.2(c) operates to exclude marketing entities, other than Indian arts and crafts organizations, from the law and regulations. Several others asserted that the definition of Indian arts and crafts organization should include any organization set up under tribal law, custom or authority, as well as under any other legal authority.
The Act broadly applies to the marketing of arts and crafts by any person in the United States. The reference to Indian arts and crafts organization as a protected group is not intended to suggest that the Act's regulation does not apply to all marketing activities. In addition, the Act's requirement that an Indian arts and crafts organization be legally established in order to meet the definition includes tribal law.
Adopted and non profit *Indian* organizations
Section 309.2 What Are the Key Definitions for Purposes of the Act?
Definition of Indian, Section 309.2(a)
One respondent asked that the regulations specifically name Native Hawaiians to protect them under the Act. Another wanted individuals who have Certificates of Indian Blood, yet are neither on tribal rolls nor certified as Indian artisans, to be included under the definition of Indian.
The final regulations do not adopt these suggestions. The Act specifically defines who is an Indian protected by the Act. The regulations can interpret and clarify the Act but cannot change the statutory terms of the Act.
One respondent expressed concern about state incorporated non-profit ``Indian'' organizations and their members who are not enrolled with state or Federally-recognized tribes, yet present themselves as Indian at crafts shows.
In addition, adoption was an issue for two respondents. One expressed concern that non-Indians, ``adopted by Indian spiritual leaders,'' may be permitted to sell their work as Indian. Another stated that ``not until the seventh generation'' should an adopted tribal member or family have the right to offer their handcrafts for sale as Indian.
The definition of Indian already satisfies these concerns. State incorporated non-profit ``Indian'' organizations do not meet the definition of Indian tribe under the Act and in section 309.2(e)(1) and (2) of the regulations. Membership in a non-profit ``Indian'' organization does not meet the definition of Indian under the Act and in section 309.2 of the regulations.
Furthermore, if an ``Indian spiritual leader'' or tribal member adopts an individual, this action does not mean that the adopted individual is a member of a state or Federally-recognized tribe or is certified as an Indian artisan by a state or Federally-recognized tribe.
Definition of Indian, Section 309.2(a)
One respondent asked that the regulations specifically name Native Hawaiians to protect them under the Act. Another wanted individuals who have Certificates of Indian Blood, yet are neither on tribal rolls nor certified as Indian artisans, to be included under the definition of Indian.
The final regulations do not adopt these suggestions. The Act specifically defines who is an Indian protected by the Act. The regulations can interpret and clarify the Act but cannot change the statutory terms of the Act.
One respondent expressed concern about state incorporated non-profit ``Indian'' organizations and their members who are not enrolled with state or Federally-recognized tribes, yet present themselves as Indian at crafts shows.
In addition, adoption was an issue for two respondents. One expressed concern that non-Indians, ``adopted by Indian spiritual leaders,'' may be permitted to sell their work as Indian. Another stated that ``not until the seventh generation'' should an adopted tribal member or family have the right to offer their handcrafts for sale as Indian.
The definition of Indian already satisfies these concerns. State incorporated non-profit ``Indian'' organizations do not meet the definition of Indian tribe under the Act and in section 309.2(e)(1) and (2) of the regulations. Membership in a non-profit ``Indian'' organization does not meet the definition of Indian under the Act and in section 309.2 of the regulations.
Furthermore, if an ``Indian spiritual leader'' or tribal member adopts an individual, this action does not mean that the adopted individual is a member of a state or Federally-recognized tribe or is certified as an Indian artisan by a state or Federally-recognized tribe.
Comments on the Final IACA - Section 309.1
Section 309.1 How Do These Regulations Carry Out the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990?
One response asked how the legislation affects arts and crafts sold in business establishments. Another stated that the ``middle man'' should be held accountable for how the product is marketed.
Section 309.1 of the regulations covers these concerns. It states that the Act regulates products offered or displayed for sale, or sold as Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian, or Indian tribe, or Indian arts and crafts organization within the United States. This section does not limit the marketing vehicles covered by the regulations.
The Act applies to any offer for sale or display for sale, or actual sale by any person in the United States. In light of this broad application, section 309.1 is appropriately drafted.
One response asked how the legislation affects arts and crafts sold in business establishments. Another stated that the ``middle man'' should be held accountable for how the product is marketed.
Section 309.1 of the regulations covers these concerns. It states that the Act regulates products offered or displayed for sale, or sold as Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian, or Indian tribe, or Indian arts and crafts organization within the United States. This section does not limit the marketing vehicles covered by the regulations.
The Act applies to any offer for sale or display for sale, or actual sale by any person in the United States. In light of this broad application, section 309.1 is appropriately drafted.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Examples of Basketry that can be Indian products
Basketry and related weavings made by an Indian using a wide variety of media, including, but not limited to, birchbark, black ash, brown ash, red cedar, yellow cedar, alder, vine maple, willow, palmetto, honeysuckle, river cane, oak, buck brush, sumac, dogwood, cattail, reed, raffia, horsehair, pine needle, spruce root, rye grass, sweet grass, yucca, bear grass, beach grass, rabbit brush, fiber, maidenhair fern, wale baleen, seal gut, feathers, shell, devil's claw, and porcupine quill, are Indian products.
Examples include but are not limited to: double woven river cane baskets, yucca winnowing trays, willow burden baskets, honeysuckle sewing baskets, black ash picnic baskets, cedar capes and dresses, pine needle/raffia effigy baskets, oak splint and braided sweet grass fancy baskets, birchbark containers, baleen baskets, rye grass dance fans, brown ash strawberry baskets, sumac wedding baskets, cedar hats, fiber basket hats, yucca wicker basketry plaques, and spruce root tobacco pouches.
This is a very small sampling of Indian made products - traditional to the Cherokees and other Southeastern Tribes are the double woven river cane baskets, but they can also be single walled and either diagonal or twill weaves. Traditional to the Oklahoma Cherokees are the double walled wicker baskets, made of a variety of materials including honeysuckle, willow and buck brush, because river cane was not as readily available in Oklahoma as in the Southeastern part of the United States.
The uniqueness of the Indian basket is also the gathering and processing of the material from which the basket is made. For this reason when a native material was not available an Indian weaver would adapt an available native material in their area. The Cherokee double woven basket today is also made from commercial chair cane or commercial reed. The traditional baskets also contained native or natural dyes usually made from the roots of plants such as the blood root for the Cherokee orange/red color or walnut bark or hull for the dark brown color. Today there are many commercial dyes that can be used to obtain the effect of these colors.
Contemporary basket weavers will also use a variety of non-traditional material and colors for their baskets, in some cases creating their own personal style of weaving.
Examples include but are not limited to: double woven river cane baskets, yucca winnowing trays, willow burden baskets, honeysuckle sewing baskets, black ash picnic baskets, cedar capes and dresses, pine needle/raffia effigy baskets, oak splint and braided sweet grass fancy baskets, birchbark containers, baleen baskets, rye grass dance fans, brown ash strawberry baskets, sumac wedding baskets, cedar hats, fiber basket hats, yucca wicker basketry plaques, and spruce root tobacco pouches.
This is a very small sampling of Indian made products - traditional to the Cherokees and other Southeastern Tribes are the double woven river cane baskets, but they can also be single walled and either diagonal or twill weaves. Traditional to the Oklahoma Cherokees are the double walled wicker baskets, made of a variety of materials including honeysuckle, willow and buck brush, because river cane was not as readily available in Oklahoma as in the Southeastern part of the United States.
The uniqueness of the Indian basket is also the gathering and processing of the material from which the basket is made. For this reason when a native material was not available an Indian weaver would adapt an available native material in their area. The Cherokee double woven basket today is also made from commercial chair cane or commercial reed. The traditional baskets also contained native or natural dyes usually made from the roots of plants such as the blood root for the Cherokee orange/red color or walnut bark or hull for the dark brown color. Today there are many commercial dyes that can be used to obtain the effect of these colors.
Contemporary basket weavers will also use a variety of non-traditional material and colors for their baskets, in some cases creating their own personal style of weaving.
Method of Identifying Authentic Indian Products
The recommended method of marketing authentic Indian products is to include the name of the artist or artisan, the name of the Tribe in which the artist or artisan is enrolled, and the individual's Tribal enrollment number.
If the individual is a certified non-member Indian artisan, rather than an enrolled Tribal member, the product identification should include the name of the Tribe providing official written certification that the individual is a non-member Indian artisan and the date upon which such certification was issued by the Tribe.
To be certified by an Indian Tribe as a non-member Indian artisan, the individual must be of Indian lineage of one or more members of such Indian Tribe and the certification must be issued in writing by the governing body of the Indian Tribe or the certifying body delegated this function by the governing body of the Indian Tribe
Example: Labels on Indian products should include:
If the individual is a certified non-member Indian artisan, rather than an enrolled Tribal member, the product identification should include the name of the Tribe providing official written certification that the individual is a non-member Indian artisan and the date upon which such certification was issued by the Tribe.
To be certified by an Indian Tribe as a non-member Indian artisan, the individual must be of Indian lineage of one or more members of such Indian Tribe and the certification must be issued in writing by the governing body of the Indian Tribe or the certifying body delegated this function by the governing body of the Indian Tribe
Example: Labels on Indian products should include:
- Name of the artist or artisan
- Name of the Tribe in which the artist is enrolled
- The individual's Tribal enrollment number or a statement that the artist is a certified non-member Indian Artisan of *Z* Tribe providing the certification and the date the certification was issued by the Tribe
Indian Style Products
A non-Indian can make and sell products in the style of Indian art or craft products only if the non-Indian or other seller does not falsely suggest to consumers that the products have been made by an Indian.
Is it worth the Risk?
Penalties for violating the Act...
For a first time violation of the Act, an individual can face civil or criminal penalties up to a $250,000 fine or a 5-year prison term, or both.
If a business violates the Act, it can face civil penalties or can be prosecuted and fined up to $1,000,000.
The IACB warns that consumer fraud not only harms the buyers, it also erodes the overall Indian arts and crafts market and the economic and cultural livelihood of Indian artists, craftspeople, and Tribes.
For a first time violation of the Act, an individual can face civil or criminal penalties up to a $250,000 fine or a 5-year prison term, or both.
If a business violates the Act, it can face civil penalties or can be prosecuted and fined up to $1,000,000.
The IACB warns that consumer fraud not only harms the buyers, it also erodes the overall Indian arts and crafts market and the economic and cultural livelihood of Indian artists, craftspeople, and Tribes.
Reporting Violations of the Act
To report a possible violation of the Indian Arts and Craft Act contacts are below or click on the link above to report via their web site...
Indian Arts and Crafts Board
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW, MS-2058-MIB
Washington, D.C. 20240
E-mail: iacb@ios.doi.gov
Telephone: (202) 208-3773
Toll Free: (888) ART-FAKE
Fax: (202) 208-5196
Indian Arts and Crafts Board
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW, MS-2058-MIB
Washington, D.C. 20240
E-mail: iacb@ios.doi.gov
Telephone: (202) 208-3773
Toll Free: (888) ART-FAKE
Fax: (202) 208-5196
Examples...
1. A non-artistic Indian labor made product made from assembled or *fit together parts*.
- a necklace strong with overseas manufactured fetishes or heshi. If an Indian assembled the necklace, in keeping with the truth-in-marketing focus of the Act, it can be marketed as *Indian assembled*. It does not meet the definition of *Indian product* under the Act. Similarly, if a product, such as a dream catcher is assembled by an Indian from a kit, it can be marketed as *Indian assembled*. It does not meet the definition of *Indian product* under the Act.
2. An Indian and a non-Indian jointly produce a product.
- In order to be an *Indian product*, the labor component of the product must be entirely Indian. In keeping with this truth-in-marketing law, a collaborative work should be marketed as such. Therefore, it should be marketed as produced by *X* (name of artist or artisan), *Y* (Tribe of Individual's enrollment) or (name of Tribe providing official written certification the individual is a non-member Indian artisan and date upon which such certification was issued by the Tribe), and *Z* (name of artist or artisan with no Tribe listed) to avoid providing false suggestions to consumers. Jointly produced products do not meet the definition of *Indian product* under the Act.
If....Then....
If...
- An Indian conceives, designs, and makes the art or craft...Then, it is an *Indian Product*;
- An Indian produces a product that is *handcrafted*, as explained in 309.3(d)(iii)...Then, it can be marketed as such and it meets the definition of *Indian product*.;
- An Indian makes an art or craft work using some machine made parts....Then, it is *Indian made* and meets the definition of *Indian product."
If...
- An Indian designs a product, such as a bracelet, which is then produced by non-Indians...Then, it is not an *Indian product* under the Act;
- A product, such as jewelry, is made with non-artistic Indian labor, from assembled or *fit together parts*...Then, it is not an *Indian product* under the Act;
- A product in the style of an Indian product is assembled by non-Indian labor from a kit...Then, it is not an *Indian product* under the Act;
- A product is in the style of an Indian art or craft product, but not made by an Indian...Then, it is not an *Indian product* under the Act;
- An Indian and a non-Indian jointly undertake the art or craft work to produce an art or craft product, for example a concho belt...Then, less than all the labor is Indian and hence it does not meet the definition of *Indian product* under the Act.
Definition of Indian
From the Federal Register June 12, 2003:
Requests were made to expand the definition of Indian to permit people of Indian descent, yet who are not enrolled in State or federally recognized Tribes, to sell their work as Indian Art. The final rule has not adopted this request.
The term *Indian* does include members of state recognized Tribes.
Those artisans of Indian descent, may market their goods as an Indian only if they are certified as an *Indian artisan* by an Indian Tribe. Such certification is at the option of the tribe.
The Act does not prohibit statements as to ones Indian heritage, so long as the statements are truthful and do not falsely suggest the individual is a member of an Indian Tribe. (The product made is not Indian unless the maker is a member of an Indian Tribe or has a letter of certification from the Tribe of descent)
Products that are not Indian made, in the style of Indian products and offered for sale, can only be sold as *non-Indian made*.
Examples of non-qualifying products, (not Indian Products):
Requests were made to expand the definition of Indian to permit people of Indian descent, yet who are not enrolled in State or federally recognized Tribes, to sell their work as Indian Art. The final rule has not adopted this request.
The term *Indian* does include members of state recognized Tribes.
Those artisans of Indian descent, may market their goods as an Indian only if they are certified as an *Indian artisan* by an Indian Tribe. Such certification is at the option of the tribe.
The Act does not prohibit statements as to ones Indian heritage, so long as the statements are truthful and do not falsely suggest the individual is a member of an Indian Tribe. (The product made is not Indian unless the maker is a member of an Indian Tribe or has a letter of certification from the Tribe of descent)
Products that are not Indian made, in the style of Indian products and offered for sale, can only be sold as *non-Indian made*.
Examples of non-qualifying products, (not Indian Products):
- products *in the style of an Indian art or craft* made by non-Indian labor;
- products *in the style of an Indian art or craft* designed by an Indian but produced by non-Indian labor;
- products *in the style of an Indian art or craft* assembled from a kit;
- products *in the style of an Indian art or craft* without substantial transformation provided by Indian artistic or craft work labor;
- An industrial product may not become an Indian product;
- products *in the style of an Indian art or craft* that is produced in an assembly line or related production line process using multiple workers not all whom are Indians. (example: if twenty people make up the labor to create the product, and one person is not Indian, the product is not an *Indian product*.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
INDIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS
FROM TITLE 25, SECTION 308 OF THE FEDERAL REGULATIONS - CERTIFICATES OF INDIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS TO CERTIFY GENUINENESS OF INDIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS
This federal code section establishes a procedure for authenticating Indian products and procedures for filing a complaint against those who sell products which are not authentic Indian products.
What are the key definitions for purposes of the Act?
Indian as applied to an individual means a person who is a member of an Indian tribe or for purposes of this part is certified by an Indian tribe as a non-member Indian artisan.
Indian artisan means an individual who is certified by an Indian tribe as a non-member Indian artisan.
Indian arts and crafts organization means any legally established arts and crafts marketing organization composed of members of Indian tribes.
Indian product-- In general. Indian product means any art or craft product made by an Indian. Exclusion for products made before 1935.
Indian tribe means--
Any Indian tribe, band, nation, Alaska Native village, or any organized group or community which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians; or
Any Indian group that has been formally recognized as an Indian tribe by a State legislature or by a State commission or similar organization legislatively vested with State tribal recognition authority.
Product of a particular Indian tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization means that the origin of a product is identified as a named Indian tribe or named Indian arts and crafts organization.
CERTIFICATES FOR INDIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS
The Indian Arts and Crafts Board offers each Indian enterprise the privilege of attaching to its trademark a certificate declaring that it is recognized by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board as an Indian enterprise dealing in genuine Indian-made handicraft products, and that its trade-mark has the approval of the Board. The certificate shall consist of a border around the trade-mark bearing the words ``Certified Indian Enterprise Genuine Handicrafts, U.S. Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Department of the Interior,'' and these words may be used wherever the trade-mark appears. Application for the certificates are made to the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Department of the Interior.
Conditions of eligibility to attach certificates.
It must offer for sale only Indian-made genuine handicraft products, i.e., objects produced by Indian craftsmen with the help of only such devices as allow the manual skill of the maker to condition the shape and design of each individual product.
It must be entirely Indian owned and organized either by individual Indians or by groups of Indians.
It must agree to apply certificates of genuineness only to such products as meet the standards of quality prescribed by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board at the time of the application of the enterprise for the privilege of attaching the certificate.
It must agree to obtain the approval of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board as to the manner of production of the certificates.
Penalties for misuse of trade-marks
The use of Government trade-marks in an unauthorized manner, or the colorable imitation of such marks, is subject to the criminal penalties.
Any person who shall counterfeit or colorably imitate any Government trade-mark used or devised by the Board shall, or any person who shall knowingly make any false statement for the purpose of obtaining the use of any such Government trade-mark, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be enjoined from further carrying on the act or acts complained of and shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $2,000, or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Revocation of privilege of attaching certificates
If an enterprise, after securing the privilege of attaching the certificates, should fail to meet the above-named conditions, the Board reserves the right to revoke the privilege.
How can an individual be certified as an Indian artisan?
The individual must be of Indian lineage of one or more members of such Indian tribe;
The certification must be documented in writing by the governing body of an Indian tribe or by a certifying body delegated this function by the governing body of the Indian tribe; and
A tribe may not impose a fee for certifying an Indian artisan.
How will statements about Indian origin of art or craft products be interpreted?
In general. The unqualified use of the term ``Indian'' or of the term ``Native American'' or the unqualified use of the name of an Indian tribe, in connection with an art or craft product, is interpreted to mean:
The maker is a member of an Indian tribe, is certified by an Indian tribe as a non-member Indian artisan, or is a member of the particular Indian tribe named; and
The art or craft product is an Indian product.
Products of Indians of foreign tribes:
In general. The unqualified use of the term ``Indian'' or of the term ``Native American'' or the unqualified use of the name of a foreign tribe, in connection with an art or craft product, regardless of where it is produced and regardless of any country-of-origin marking on the product, is interpreted to mean for purposes of this part that:
The maker is a member of an Indian tribe, is certified by an Indian tribe as a non-member Indian artisan, or is a member of the particular Indian tribe named;
The tribe is resident in the United States; and
The art or craft product is an Indian product.
Exception where country of origin is disclosed. This section does not apply to any art or craft for which the name of the foreign country of tribal ancestry is clearly disclosed in conjunction with marketing of the product.
Example. X is a lineal descendant of a member of Indian Tribe A. However, X is not a member of Indian Tribe A, nor is X certified by Indian Tribe A as a non-member Indian artisan. X may not be described in connection with the marketing of an art or craft product made by X as an Indian, a Native American, a member of an Indian tribe, a member of Tribe A, or as a non-member Indian artisan of an Indian tribe. However, the true statement may be used that X is of Indian descent, Native American descent, or Tribe A descent.
How are complaints filed?
Complaints about protected products alleged to be offered or displayed for sale or sold in a manner that falsely suggests they are Indian products should be made in writing and addressed to the Director, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Room 4004-MIB, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240. They now have a web site where complaints may also be submitted via the web: http://www.iacb.doi.gov/act.html
What penalties apply?
A person who offers or displays for sale or sells a good, with or without a Government trademark, in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian or Indian tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization, resident within the United States:
Is subject to the criminal penalties specified in section 1159, title 18, United States Code; and
Is subject to the civil penalties specified in section 305e, title 25, United States Code.
The Code of Federal Regulations is unclear as to whether or not the trade-mark they refer to is a trade-mark applied for through the Federal Trade Mark office in addition to the certificate or if the certificate is akin to a Federal Trade Mark for Indian Arts and Crafts purposes.
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