By Scott S. Smith

Imitation may be the price of success,
but it can be deadly

Left side: This imported knockoff is made of colored plastic block, imported shell heishi, and red glass beads. The plastic block used to make the fake heishi is next to the necklace. Notice that there is a semblance of matrix (black lines) in the heishi. Plastic block is now being made to look more and more like authentic material. Right side: Traditional Pueblo jacla necklace with Nevada turquoise, orange spiny oyster shell, and coral beads. There is a nugget of natural turquoise beside the piece showing the matrix (host stone that bears the truquoise while it forms in veins over several million years). Notice how there is so much variation in the character of the stone and matrix colors, as compared to the plastic block on the left.

The sky, the earth, and the spirit of the great American Southwest all resonate in the unique jewelry and crafts created by Native Americans in that region. Strong silver bracelets enfolding the skystone, turquoise; delicate heishi beads carved of trade shells; small stone animals that bestow luck and life--these have been crafted in hogan and pueblo with hand and heart for centuries.

Enter the industrial age, and mass production in overseas factories. The U.S. Department of Commerce last surveyed the Native American arts and crafts industry in 1985 and estimated sales of $800 million. The skyrocketing market since then has experts guessing that it is now well over $1 billion, and some say it could be much higher. What used to be an individual's handicraft is now big business.

In the midst of this popularity of Indian crafts, unemployment at the leading Southwestern arts tribes--Zuni, Navajo, and Hopi--whose styles account for 90 percent of the market, is over 70 percent. Two decades ago, it was 40 percent.

At the Santo Domingo Pueblo near Santa Fe, New Mexico, famous for its intricately-made traditional heishi beads, almost no jewelers are able to make a living selling their work any more. Zuni jeweler Loren Panteah claims that in the past five years, his income has been cut by one-third and notes that "a lot of families have had their vehicles taken, their lights shut off."

What happened?

Counterfeits that are machine-made or hand-made cheaply in countries like Mexico, Pakistan, India, Thailand, and the Philippines account for much of what is passed off as the hand-made product of American Indians. The fakes have driven down prices drastically, putting many legitimate artisans and stores out of business.

Deanna Olson, president of Silver Sun in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, distributes Native jewelry and crafts nationwide. Her experience suggests that at least half of what is on the market is cast, machine-made, or copied fraudulently overseas. Over half a billion dollars are taken away from Native artists every year. And things are getting worse by the day.

"This situation is not only resulting in Indian artists practically starving, but it is destroying Native cultures," says Olson.

Also insidious are the local factories, sometimes employing Natives, who mass-produce items which are then claimed to be "hand-crafted" ("Indian-crafted" is how they are labeled, if in fact they employ Native Americans). Many of these factory workers in Gallup, the center of Indian art, are afraid to talk about what they do for fear of losing their jobs.

This has particularly hurt the low-end market, where customers are less discerning, but now the situation is even starting to affect sales of the best work with higher-quality deceptions, such as faux Navajo rugs and phony Hopi kachinas.

Ground zero in the attack against counterfeits is New Mexico, the nation's leader in the industry. The 707-member Indian Arts and Crafts Association (IACA) in Albuquerque is aggressively fighting to stop the frauds and expects this to become a national hot-button issue over the next year.

Andy Abeita, a successful artist from Isleta Pueblo south of Albuquerque, is an IACA board member and former president who has been responsible for spearheading the drive against fakes. "We expect major legal action to take place within the next year," he predicts. "We have been building cases that will establish strong precedents."

The Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) was created in 1935 and charged with the dual tasks of preserving tribal culture and stopping non-Natives from claiming their work was Indian-made. Gradually, says Abeita, the IACB emphasized the museum side of its agenda (it operates three museums, holds exhibitions, and publishes a source directory for the industry) and neglected its responsibility to protect artists.

Finally, in 1990, the Federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act was amended to give the IACB some teeth. The penalties include a fine of $250,000 and five years in prison for the first offense and $1 million and 15 years for the second, with fines for corporations reaching as high as $5 million. The amendments make provision for punitive damages, payment of attorney fees, and cease-and-desist orders against violators. But the IACB quibbled for six years over setting precise regulations. Abeita charges that they lack enthusiasm for the job.

Believing the IACB would only occasionally refer a case to the Department of Justice, Abeita went to the U.S. Attorney General for the State of New Mexico, who directed that violations be brought to his attention. In addition, Abeita recently helped draft legislation to provide for two staff members who will investigate false claims about products being Indian-made. This will be the first state task force of its kind.

Pete Domenici, U.S. Senator from New Mexico, put through a bill which gave the U.S. Customs new regulations that would help stop the flow of imported "Indian" products, but it was not implemented until recently. This August, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee is expected to hold hearings on the crisis that could result in further federal attention.

In addition, Abeita was named last year as a delegate to the International Trade Center of the United Nations to develop policies on indigenous products. Already, international pressure has forced a counterfeit center in the Philippines that had named itself "Zuni" to stop using the word on its products.

An international indigenous trademark is being developed, which could be combined with tribal marks, "like a Good Housekeeping seal," says Abeita. This would stop abuses such as happened when a store imported rings from Mexico, buffed off the country of origin, and substituted initials of artists. (The particular case was investigated by the State Attorney General's office.)

But not all Native artists and dealers are happy with the anti-fraud effort. Martin Link, editor of The Indian Trader in Gallup, New Mexico, reports that some of his readers are worried that speaking out on the issue will fuel a loss of customer confidence that could hurt them.

"Ultimately, the best protection from fakes is to buy from a dealer or artist you trust," says Olson. Silver Sun provides literature such as artist biographies, certificates of authenticity, and educational materials concerning the making of jewelry to customers. Steve Coleman of The Nugget Gallery in Gallup, a leading Indian arts wholesaler, says, "Ask as many questions as you can about who made the item and what it is made of. If the seller doesn't seem to know or won't put the information in writing, don't buy." Some counterfeit peddlers, however, will offer receipts, and these may serve as evidence if an action is taken. "Making false claims is one way they will ultimately be trapped," Coleman says. He also cautions about buying when there's no way to return an item.

The original, authentic hand-made Native crafts that inspired this worldwide phenomenon--the billion-dollar sales, the factories, and the fakes--still exist out there, made lovingly and patiently in the open air of the mesa or the home workshop around a wood fire. They are the living embodiment of the cultures that create them, a gift of the land and the light. True hand-made works are powerful and unique, and for that, there is no substitute.

Historical photographs are from the Museum of New Mexico Photo Archives in Santa Fe.

Copyright ©1998 Cowboys & Indians

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Experts have suggestions when it comes to buying Native-made products, especially those that are claimed to be hand-made:

• If the jewelry is silver, it should be marked "Sterling."
• Heishi--strung shell or stone beads--should be regular in cut and smooth to the touch, and should stack evenly.
• If the design appears mechanically stamped and identical on every similar item, especially on the inside of the jewelry piece, it is likely machine-made.
• If a large piece of jewelry is very inexpensive, it was probably made cheaply in another country (smaller pieces may or may not be authentic: Zuni families make beautiful, completely handmade small earrings for less than $10 retail).
• Look for the country of origin marked on the product, as mandated by law.
• Ask for a receipt that certifies the materials the product was made from and the tribal origin. If possible, get the name of the artist.
• Buy from dealers with an established reputation who display the seal of the Indian Arts and Crafts Association for the current year.