Hearing today on counterfeit Indian art
U.S. Sens. Udall, Heinrich leading effort to halt illegal sale of items
U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, both New Mexico Democrats, will lead a hearing Friday on efforts to halt the marketing and sale of counterfeit tribal artifacts, an issue that has affected the livelihoods of Native American artists and jewelers in the state and across Indian Country.
The hearing will start at 10 a.m. at the Santa Fe Indian School, 1501 Cerrillos Road. Among the speakers Udall and Heinrich will hear from are acting U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Jim Tierney and former U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez.
In the past few decades, as the popularity of Native American art has grown, so has counterfeit art being falsely advertised as Indian-made.
In recent years, federal officials have cracked downed on the sale of counterfeit Native American art, including in Santa Fe, and the city has imposed new rules on vendors. The City Council last year approved an ordinance proposed by Mayor Javier Gonzales that requires vendors to disclose the origins of their artwork or face the loss of their business license.
In October 2015, as part of a sting operation, federal agents raided shops in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Gallup and other sites outside New Mexico, seizing Filipino-made art fraudulently advertised as Native American art.
As a result of the monthslong investigation, a federal grand jury indicted six people, including former Gallup residents Imad Aysheh and Nedal Aysheh, California residents Iyad Aysheh and Raed Aysheh, and Albuquerque residents Nael Ali and Mohammad Abed Manasra. The defendants are accused of violating the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act by conspiring to import and fraudulently sell Filipino-made jewelry as Native American. The case is still pending in a federal court in
Albuquerque.
This case in part prompted Gonzales to push for an ordinance that eventually created a cultural district in the city — stretching from Upper Canyon Road to the downtown Plaza area — where vendors are required to clearly mark which artifacts are authentic and which are not.
Before the ordinance was adopted, vendors at the Palace of the Governors on the northern side of the Plaza, already carried yellow cards issued by the state that served as proof of authenticity.
Heinrich and Udall, who is the vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, also will hear testimony from Dallin Maybee, the chief operating officer of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, the organization that produces the annual Indian Market, and Harvey Pratt, a Native American artist.