An Inclusive Litany
11/23/92
The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 criminalizes the sale of
"Indian" art by non-Indians (Native Americans, that is). Under
the law, European-inspired art created by an Indian is considered
Indian art, and an impeccably woven Navajo blanket by a non-Indian
is not. The law is overseen by the Interior Department's
Indian Arts and Crafts Board, and it imposes a fine of $250,000 and
five years in prison for first offenders. As a result, art festivals
have dropped the word "Indian" from their titles, and Indians whose
ancestors were not eager at the turn of the century to register with
the Dawes Commission, which signed up Indians as a first step towards
land allocation, have had to go to tribal councils seeking
certification as "Indians" before selling their wares. Bert
Seabourn, a famous painter of Cherokee descent whose work hangs in the
Vatican,
has been unable to obtain certification from the Cherokee tribe.