Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990
- Introduced in the House as H.R. 2006 by Jon Kyl (R–AZ) on April 17, 1989
- Committee consideration by House Interior and Insular Affairs, House Judiciary, Senate Indian Affairs
- Passed the House on September 27, 1990 (Passed voice vote)
- Passed the Senate on October 25, 1990 (Passed voice vote) with amendment
- House agreed to Senate amendment on October 27, 1990 (Agreed without objection) with further amendment
- Senate agreed to House amendment on October 28, 1990 (Agreed voice vote)
- Signed into law by President George H. W. Bush on November 29, 1990
The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-644) is a truth-in-advertising law which prohibits misrepresentation in marketing of American Indian or Alaska Native arts and crafts products within the United States. It is illegal to offer or display for sale, or sell any art or craft product in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian or Indian Tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization, resident within the United States. For a first time violation of the Act, an individual can face civil or criminal penalties up to a $250,000 fine or a five-year prison term, or both. If a business violates the Act, it can face civil penalties or can be prosecuted and fined up to $1,000,000.
The law covers all Indian and Indian-style traditional and contemporary arts and crafts produced after 1935. The Act broadly applies to the marketing of arts and crafts by any person in the United States. Some traditional items frequently copied by non-Indians include Indian-style jewelry, pottery, baskets, carved stone fetishes, woven rugs, kachina figures, and clothing.
The Indian Arts and Crafts Board, an agency established in 1934, has responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the Act.
Definitions
The US Department of the Interior explicitly states on its informational website about the Act that, "Under the Act, an Indian is defined as a member of any federally or State recognized Indian Tribe, or an individual certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian Tribe."[1]
In Section 309.2, the Act defines an "Indian tribe" as:
(1) Any Indian tribe, band, nation, Alaska Native village, or any organized group or community which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians; or (2) Any Indian group that has been formally recognized as an Indian tribe by a State legislature or by a State commission or similar organization legislatively vested with State tribal recognition authority.[2]
All products must be marketed truthfully regarding the Indian heritage and tribal affiliation of the producers, so as not to mislead the consumer. It is illegal to market an art or craft item using the name of a tribe if a member, or certified Indian artisan, of that tribe did not actually create the art or craft item.[3]
Section 309.4 of the act also allows for individuals with tribal ancestry who are not eligible for enrollment to be designated as "an Indian artisan by a particular tribe". The certification must be documented in writing by the tribal government.[4]
The Act does not apply to services as was revealed by the judgement in a case against James Arthur Ray.
Controversy
Cultural anthropologist and attorney Gail Sheffield and others claim that this law has had "the unintended consequence of sanctioning discrimination against Native Americans whose tribal affiliation was not officially recognized".[5] Those who claim to be Native artists but are not enrolled in a tribe run the risk of fines or imprisonment if they continue to sell their art while claiming Native heritage.[6][7][8]
See also
- Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood
- Cultural appropriation
- Indigenous intellectual property
- List of Alaska Native tribal entities
- List of federally recognized tribes
- Pretendian
- State recognized tribes in the United States
- Native American flute
- Protected Geographical Status, a similar legal requirement of authenticity in the European Union
- Terroir
- Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations
References
- ^ "The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990." Archived 2006-09-25 at the Wayback Machine US Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
- ^ p. 785 of the Act. US Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
- ^ Velie, Elaine (2023-05-22). "Artist Who Faked Native Identity Gets 18-Month Sentence". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ^ "Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 Public Law 101-644." Native American Artists. 21 Oct 1996. Accessed 18 May 2014.
- ^ Gail Sheffield, The Arbitrary Indian: The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990. University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.
- ^ Nancy Perezo, "Indigenous Art." In A Companion to American Indian History, ed. by Philip Deloria and Neal Salisbury (Blackwell, 2002).
- ^ Kilpatrick, James (13 December 1992). "A Cozy Little Restraint Of Trade Rules Indian Arts And Crafts". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2014-05-18.
- ^ Sam Blackwell, "Playing Politics with Native American Art." The Southeast Missourian, October 6, 2000.
External links
- US Code Collection: Title 25—Indians, Chapter 7A—Promotion of Social and Economic Welfare. Cornell University Law School.
- Page 785 of the Act (pdf file, section 309.2 contains the specific definitions)
- v
- t
- e
- Johnson v. McIntosh (1823)
- Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)
- Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
- Fellows v. Blacksmith (1857)
- New York ex rel. Cutler v. Dibble (1858)
- Standing Bear v. Crook (D. Neb. 1879)
- Ex parte Crow Dog (1883)
- Elk v. Wilkins (1884)
- Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy (1896)
- Talton v. Mayes (1896)
- Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (1903)
- United States v. Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Co. (1941)
- Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States (1955)
- Williams v. Lee (1959)
- Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation (1960)
- Menominee Tribe v. United States (1968)
- McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission (1973)
- Oneida Indian Nation of New York v. County of Oneida (1974)
- Bryan v. Itasca County (1976)
- United States v. Antelope (1977)
- Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez (1978)
- Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe (1982)
- Solem v. Bartlett (1984)
- County of Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York State (1985)
- South Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc. (1986)
- Hodel v. Irving (1987)
- Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield (1989)
- Duro v. Reina (1990)
- South Dakota v. Bourland (1993)
- Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho (1997)
- Idaho v. United States (2001)
- United States v. Lara (2004)
- City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York (2005)
- Cobell v. Salazar (D.C. Cir. 2009)
- Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (2013)
- Sharp v. Murphy and McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020)
- Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta (2022)
- Blood quantum laws (1705 onwards)
- Nonintercourse Act (1790,1793,1796,1799,1802,1834)
- Civilization Act (1819)
- Indian Removal Act (1830)
- Dawes Act (1887)
- Curtis Act (1898)
- Burke Act (1906)
- Indian Citizenship Act (1924)
- Indian Reorganization Act (1934)
- Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act (1936)
- Nationality Act (1940)
- Public Law 280 (1953)
- Indian Relocation Act (1956)
- Indian Civil Rights Act (1968)
- Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (1971)
- Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (1975)
- American Indian Religious Freedom Act (1978)
- Indian Child Welfare Act (1978)
- Diminishment (1984)
- Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (1988)
- Native American Languages Act (1990)
- Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990)
- Indian Arts and Crafts Act (1990)
State recognition
- Aboriginal title
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Cherokee Commission
- Dawes Rolls
- Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Eagle feather law
- Hunting license
- In the Courts of the Conqueror
- Indian reservations
- Long Walk of the Navajo
- National Indian Gaming Commission
- Native American civil rights
- Native American gaming
- Native American Rights Fund
- Recognition of sacred sites
- Seminole Wars
- Survivance
- Trail of Tears
- Treaty rights
- Tribal sovereignty
- United States Congressional Joint Special Committee on Conditions of Indian Tribes