‘You have to have the hammer’ on fake art
Native American artists call for heavier crackdown on counterfeit tribal art
Native American artists want the federal government to step up its enforcement of a law prohibiting sales of counterfeit tribal art, saying culprits in the growing industry are not only defrauding customers but are undercutting the livelihoods of tribal people creating authentic works.
“It disturbs me that people throughout the world are misappropriating our traditional designs and profiting from it,” Joyce BegayFoss, a Navajo weaver, told U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, a New Mexico Democrat and vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, during a hearing Friday at the Santa Fe Indian School.
Udall and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a fellow New Mexico Democrat, held the field hearing to listen to concerns from tribal artists and federal law enforcement officials about violations of the decades-old Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which makes it illegal to market art as Native American-made when it’s not.
In the past few decades, as the popularity of Native American art has grown, so has counterfeit art being falsely advertised as Indianmade. The crime has become an international problem, as well as a national issue, because dealers have sold art produced in foreign countries to retailers in Santa Fe and other cities across the Southwest that many tourists visit in part to collect authentic Native American art.
The hearing comes as a highprofile case involving art sales at galleries in Santa Fe is pending in a federal court in Albuquerque.
Some federal officials told Udall and Heinrich during Friday’s hearing that a heavier crackdown on dealers and retailers who are marketing goods falsely advertised as Native American-made would require changes to the law.
Damon Martinez, the former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, suggested adding a provision to the law that would allow for the forfeiture of revenues from sales of fraudulent art. He also proposed allowing the use of wiretapping in investigations, so that federal agents can show that retailers and dealers are knowingly selling non-Native American-made art and fraudulently advertising it as authentic.
In October 2015, federal agents raided shops in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Gallup and sites outside New Mexico, seizing Filipinomade art they say was fraudulently advertised as being crafted by Native Americans.
William Woody, chief of the law
enforcement office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has been at the forefront of enforcing the Indian Arts and Crafts Act since 2012, said the investigation culminated in the indictments of six people. Officials seized items that were declared to have a wholesale value of $11 million and a far higher retail value, he added.
Among those indicted by a federal grand jury were former Gallup residents Imad Aysheh and Nedal Aysheh, California residents Iyad Aysheh and Raed Aysheh, and Albuquerque residents Nael Ali and Mohammad Abed Manasra. If convicted, each could face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Woody, who also voiced support for a forfeiture provision for those found guilty of violating the federal law, called the $250,000 fine “a pittance.”
“The influx of fraudulent jewelry drives legitimate Native American artists out of a flooded market,” he said. Though he couldn’t confirm how much Native American-style art sold across the globe is fake, he said it could be as much as 80 percent of the market.
Meridith Stanton, executive director of the U.S. Interior Department’s Indian Arts and Crafts Board, another official who called for stiffer penalties and tougher enforcement, said her office attends events such as the Santa Fe Indian Market to educate shoppers and brokers about provisions of the federal Indian arts law that applies to traditional and contemporary Native American-style arts and crafts produced after 1935.
“You can speak or pass out brochures, and do workshops and seminars, but you still have to have the law enforcement aspect,” Stanton said. “You have to have the hammer.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has yet to review the effectiveness of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, she added.
Dallin Maybee, chief operating officer of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, the organization the produces the Indian Market, said SWAIA also tries to root out fraudulent artists.
“Artists are grateful for the enforcement efforts that have been made to date, but I am sure that the testimony heard today will reflect a desire for increased resources for continued and ongoing enforcement efforts,” he said.
Udall agreed that the federal law needs to be updated and that enforcement efforts must increase in order to effectively crack down on the crime.
“This rampant and shocking illegal trade is destabilizing the Native art market, devaluing Native American art, and forcing Native Americans to quit their crafts — and it must be stopped,” he said in a statement after the three-hour testimony.
“We must take action to stop this assault on artists’ ability to carry on deeply significant traditions that have helped hold families and communities together for generations,” Udall said.
In order to help combat fraudulent art, Udall suggested that federal law enforcement officials work with local leaders.
Such efforts have been launched in Santa Fe. Last year, the City Council approved an ordinance proposed by Mayor Javier Gonzales that requires vendors in the downtown area to disclose the origins of their artwork or face the loss of their business license.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.