Native made? Protect it

When customers pay top dollar for handmade Native jewelry, they are buying an object of beauty. Buyers also are paying for intangibles as well — the skill of the artist who created a particular piece and the centuries of culture and tradition that are part of every item created.

One-of-a-kind means unique, not mass-produced, something that only a particular artist could have created and that the shopper takes home to cherish and perhaps pass down to a child or grandchild. For that relationship to prosper, the work has to be authentic.

Buyers must not be cheated, of course. More importantly, though, artists who depend on making jewelry, rugs, pottery, baskets — any Native traditional craft — cannot have their work devalued because of cheap knockoffs made overseas, imported and sold illegally. Such frauds cheat Native artists of their livelihood.

That’s no little damage; consider a place such as Zuni Pueblo, where some 80 percent of the people make at least a portion of their living from creating arts or crafts. These are clean, home-based industries that allow tribal members to remain close to their roots so they can participate in activities, keeping tradition alive and boosting economies.

To prevent such theft, there is a federal law designed to protect American Indian artists and craftspeople. Trouble is, the law has been on the books for decades with little enforcement. That is changing, and it’s about time. A case out of Albuquerque shows what is possible, both in breaking up rings that bring fraudulent goods into the country and in holding the crooks accountable. (Details of the investigation sound a little like a thriller, with invisible ink marking the factory-made goods that then showed up for sale as “authentic” in Albuquerque shops.)

Investigators who followed the trail from the Philippines to New Mexico and prosecutors who made the successful case are not just enforcing the law, They are protecting the livelihood of Native artists and the economy of New Mexico. They deserve credit for perseverance and diligence in cracking the case.

Shoppers need to know that what they purchase is real. Otherwise, why pay more? Authenticity should be guaranteed, and it can be, if more people are prosecuted under this federal statute. Also necessary are efforts such as the one in Santa Fe to create a Native American Arts or Crafts District. The local ordinance requires businesses to identify authentic products, single out those that are not and post a sign at the register that lets shoppers know they can ask for a certificate of authenticity. Enforcement, of course, will be a key to preserving Santa Fe’s reputation as a place where the real deal can be found.

Finding fake peddlers is no easy task, with the federal investigation taking years to complete — named Operation Al Zuni, it started in 2012, with charges filed in October 2015 and a plea deal reached last fall.

Later this spring, the sentencing of the two Albuquerque defendants will follow. The two men are accused of conspiring to import and fraudulently sell Filipino-made jewelry as Native American-made. Part of the hearing will be the testimony of Native artists on the impact this fraud has on their livelihoods. Such witness is essential to understand the harm this fraud creates.

Under the federal law, it is prohibited for anyone to offer or show for sale any good in a way that suggests falsely that it is Indian-produced or from a particular tribe or made by a particular Indian. It’s OK to sell fakes. They just must be labeled as such. The law protects the work of Native artisans, including all Indian and Indian-style traditional and contemporary arts and crafts produced since 1935. That’s as it should be.

Now, let’s root out more fakes, send more hucksters to jail and continue to protect this unique American art form.