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A new law in Oklahoma says only enrolled members of federally recognized tribes can label and sell their art as “Native made.” That means artists from tribes recognized only by states are out of luck. Those in support of the law—including several tribes—say it protects the integrity of Native art. But others—like Peggy Fontenot, an artist from a state-recognized tribe—say the law tramples on her rights. Do you think we need stricter arts and crafts laws? Is it fair for a state to determine who is Native or not?
Guests:
Peggy Fontenot (enrolled in the Patawomeck tribe) – Native American artist
Caleb Trotter – Pacific Legal Foundation attorney
Kimberly Teehee (member of the Cherokee Nation) – Cherokee Nation government affairs director
Break music: Sisters (song) Tribe Called Red (artist) Nation II Nation (album)
This law is a good thing. Federally recognized tribes only!!!!! Individual state laws vary too much and are generally WAY too lax!! There is a good reason why only the federal government can recognize a tribe indigenous to this country as such!!! Protect Indigenous people and our art and other culture from appropriation and fraud!!!
She is free to sell her art, but she can’t label it as Indian made. She doesn’t belong to a federally recognized tribe, can she show a federally issued CDIB? There are lots of these State tribes and culture clubs popping up and we have to protect our true Native Artists.
Whether or not Peggy Fontenot and her “tribe” are authentic strikes at the very heart of her case. If she isn’t what she claims and the tribe is not really a tribe, then the case falls apart. The law firm representing her should have vetted her and her group before taking this on. And her lawyer’s claim that what she does is legal and they are only defending her rights under the law smacks of the arguments favoring paying for Indian scalps (redskins), slavery and killing Jews in Nazi Germany, ALL legal in their day. What Ms. Fontenot and her legal team are doing may be “the law” but supplanting authentic Indians with a wannabe in a fake tribe is no different; its still killing the real Indians. It is my opinion that Ms. Fontenot is not an Indian nor is the group she joined and Virginia calls a tribe an authentic Indian tribe. I stated in my comments that the group she belongs to had not been vetted by Virginia before the legislature approved them. Ms. Fontenot countered by claiming they had been through a lengthy struggle to get state recognition. We are both correct, but in very different ways. Her group was not vetted by the state and had they been, there would be no way the legislature should have approved them. Did they have a struggle to get state recognition as Ms. Fontenot claims? Of course, but the struggle was all purely political. It took time, money and star power from Wayne Newton to dazzle the ignorant members of the state legislature into providing recognition to a group with no proof they are what they claim with members who are just as fake. Ms. Fontenot claimed I made personal attacks against her. That is simply not the case. It isn’t a bad thing to be white, just ask Donald Trump. But it is a bad thing to be white and pretend to be Indian to gain access to a market you’re not qualified for. I guess when you can’t make it in the real world you steal from the Indians. That process is older than the founding of this country!
Absolutely Native art should be confined to member’s of Federally recognized tribes. Too many non Natives have sold their art as Native made. That constitutes fraud. Non Natives are making money off the backs of real Native’s. That’s taking away the revenue that buyer’s intend to go to authentic Native artists.
The new Oklahoma law closes a major loophole in the federal IACA. The vetting process for tribes to be federally-recognized is strong, with a very high threshold. The federal recognition process examines whether there were treaties with the tribe, if the tribal government continue to exist to modern times, whether members could be genealogically traced to historic tribal members.
The so-called “tribe” this lady belongs to isn’t federally-recognized. The so-called “state recognized” tribes aren’t thoroughly vetted, and the states don’t have the constitutional authority to recognize tribes. Many of these “state tribes” will sell you a yearly membership for $50 or less.
Does this lady possess a CDIB card from the BIA? I highly doubt it.
We need to protect the sovereign rights of federally-recognized tribes and their tribal members, and prevent these “state tribes” from claiming anything they want, making up their history, selling “tribal memberships”.
Ms. Fontenot can continue to sell her art in Oklahoma. She just can no longer claim that it’s “Indian Art” or “Indian made”. No one is preventing her from selling her art. This is simply a truth in advertising law.
I don’t understand why she thinks it’s ok for people who cannot prove they connect to a Native American should be able to sell their products as American Indians. All citizens of Federal Nations are descendants of Native Americans. State Tribes require nothing more to join than giving them money and that does not make you an American Indian.
Well from my stand point people like that have been told they are native thier hole life, like me. It wasn’t until recently that I looked at my family tree to find out for myself. From what I found my great grandmother was native chawtaw, but for me I didn’t grow up as a member of a tribe or got to learn things like native art. However I wouldn’t think it right for me to make art and try to pass it off as native even if it was made like natives do. I did not grow up in a tribe nor even know half of the struggle they face.
I think people would be surprised by some of the stuff that has gone on Oklahoma. In fact I got contacted by some Cheyenne & Arapaho tribal members a few years back inquiring about an individual from Pennsylvania who was receiving an award from the state of Oklahoma for their beadwork and other “Indian Arts,” but yet was not a member of any state or federally recognized tribe. I provided them with some documentation on the matter.
There has to be truth in labeling. Here in Montana I proposed that shops separate the actual authentic Native made items from the non-Native made items. Then people will see how much shops are contributing to local and regional Native Arts market versus the European stuff and the hobbyists who claim to be Native.
Here a lot of people don’t realize that Natives are actually getting taken advantage of pretty bad. They’re often forced to produce small products (i.e. pens, buckles, lighters, wallets, medallions, baby moccasins, etc), things they can make in bulk and sell at low prices to keep the lights on, buy enough to make a meal for their family or keep the car running. A lot of the larger items such as pipe bags, fully beaded moccasins (adult size), and cradleboards are being bought from overseas at bottom dollar and from hobbyists. Some shops will buy a “replica” pipe bag for $200 to $300 from the Czech Republic and then sell it in their shop anywhere from $1600 to $1800.
There are a couple of reasons that shops buy European and from hobbyists. In the Czech Republic the US dollar can get them more. And hobbyists and “Native claimers” are usually people who already have a profession, or they’re inherited money that sustains them, or they’re business owners. So really making “Indian/Native arts” is truly a hobby for them.
After getting burned pretty bad by the Little Bighorn Trading Post I did a lot of research into the market. Not only that, having dealt with people who were making items and claiming to be Native, and then turned out not to have any tie whatsoever to any tribe, state or federally recognized, really opened my eyes up to how far people will go to protect their assumed identity.