The U.S. Department of Interior held a listening session in Albuquerque last week to seek comments on proposed changes to theIndian Arts and Crafts Act, which makes it illegal to sell products that falsely suggest they are made by Native Americans.
Fakery is big business with real impacts on Indigenous artisans. In 2019 federal agents charged five men and two businesses in New Mexico for smuggling fake Native American goods from the Philippines and making millions of dollars.
Indigenous art is a large part of the arts and cultural industries in New Mexico, a sector which generates $137 Million dollars in revenue and employs over 43,000 New Mexicans according to the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
Sheldon Velarde is the director for the Cultural Arts and Heritage for the Jicarilla Apache Nation and is also an artist. As a traditional artist, he makes pottery, baskets, beadwork, moccasins, and dresses. He attended the listening session and says that people try to replicate Native American artwork like his and it affects his tribe.
"I do see some of the imitation artwork around and it does bug you. Some of it has the plastic or especially the jewelry," he said.
The Department of Interior is hosting a series of listening sessions and consultations with tribes around the country to update the Indian Arts and Crafts Act to help ensure artisans are fairly compensated. The proposed updates bring more focus to promotional activities, expand the definition of what is “Native American-made” and implement a new trademark to certify that an item is an “Indian Product.”
The certification trademark will be available for Native American artists individually or a business where 50% is at least owned by a Native American.
Velarde says keeping traditions alive is important because they can easily die out, which almost happened in his tribe. If not for the work of several artisans "we wouldn't be making pottery. But I'm happy because we all have that common goal of passing it down to the next generation."
Interior officials expect to issue a draft of the proposed changes in the fall.
The Department of Interior will continue to host listening sessions around the country with the last one in Santa Fe on August 18th during Indian Market.
