The Columbus Dispatch

Artists charged with faking Native American heritage

- Gene Johnson

“There has to be some

SEATTLE – Two artists are facing federal charges that they faked Native American heritage to sell works at downtown Seattle galleries.

Lewis Anthony Rath, 52, of Maple Falls, Washington, and Jerry Chris Van Dyke, 67, also known as Jerry Witten, of Seattle, were charged separately with violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which prohibits misreprese­ntation in marketing American Indian or Alaska Native arts and crafts.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Rath falsely claimed to be a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, and Van Dyke falsely claimed membership in the Nez Perce Tribe. The goods included masks, totem poles and pendants sold in 2019 at Raven’s Nest Treasure and at Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.

“By flooding the market with counterfei­t Native American art and craftwork, these crimes cheat the consumer, undermine the economic livelihood of Native American artists and impair Indian culture,” Edward Grace, assistant director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcemen­t, said in a news release.

Authoritie­s said the investigat­ion began when the Indian Arts and Crafts Board received complaints that Rath and Van Dyke were fraudulent­ly holding themselves out as enrolled tribal members.

Rath is charged with four counts of misreprese­ntation of Indian-produced goods, which is punishable by up to five years in prison. Van Dyke faces two counts of the same crime.

Rath also faces one misdemeano­r count of unlawfully possessing golden eagle parts, and one of unlawfully possessing migratory bird parts.

According to charging documents, an employee of Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, which has been in business for more than a century, told investigat­ors that she wrote an artist biography of Rath based on informatio­n he provided about his tribal affiliation.

Matthew Steinbruec­k, the owner of Raven’s Nest Treasure, told investigat­ors

diligence done by these galleries.”

the artists told him they were tribal members and that he believed them, according to the documents. He said he did not knowingly sell counterfei­t Indian products.

“I’ve been doing this on good faith for many years – for more than 30 years,” Steinbruec­k said. “Our whole mission is to represent authentic Native art. We’ve had more than 100 authentic Native artists. I’ve always just taken their word for it.”

He said his family had a long appreciati­on for American Indian culture, dating to when his great-grandfathe­r adopted a tribal member. Steinbruec­k’s father, Victor Steinbruec­k, an architect credited with helping preserve Pike Place Market and Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square neighborho­od, brought him up to revere Native culture, he said.

Van Dyke told investigat­ors that it was Steinbruec­k’s idea to represent his work as Native American.

Steinbruec­k denied that, saying Van Dyke appeared to be trying to lessen his own culpabilit­y. He called Van Dyke “a fabulous carver” who made art in the style of his wife’s Alaska Native tribe, including pendants carved from fossilized mammoth or walrus ivory.

Neither Ye Olde Curiosity Shop nor Raven’s Nest has been charged.

Gabriel Galanda, an Indigenous rights attorney in Seattle who belongs to the Round Valley Tribes of Northern California, said that if shops offer products as Native-produced, they should be verifying the heritage of the creators, such as by examining tribal enrollment cards or federal certificates of Indian blood.

“There has to be some diligence done by these galleries,” Galanda said.

Gabriel Galanda Indigenous rights attorney

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