Scam Alert: "Native-Made" Crafts Can Fool the Unsuspecting
By: Sid Kirchheimer; Source: AARP Bulletin Today Date Posted: 2007-02-08 17:14:00-05:00
Soon after Loren Bird Rattler became director of the Blackfeet Heritage Center and Art Gallery on the tribe's Montana reservation, he examined its inventory of items.
Amid the array of native-made crafts, a bag created with porcupine quills, of the type once used to carry peace pipes, caught his eye. Bird Rattler had been a crafts specialist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington—he knew this quill bag wasn't the real thing.
"At the Smithsonian, we did an educational DVD on wrapped quill work, so based on the colors and weaving techniques used, I could tell the bag was made in the Czech Republic—not by the Blackfeet Nation," says Bird Rattler. "But to the untrained eye? It fooled our museum's buyer. Imagine how it would fool an unsuspecting tourist."
Each year, about $1 billion worth of American Indian crafts, advertised as authentic, are sold at roadside stands, in souvenir and hotel gift shops and on the Internet. There's turquoise and silver jewelry in New Mexico. Weavings, pottery and baskets in Arizona. Soapstone carvings and Eskimo dolls in Alaska. "Up to half of it is counterfeit," says Jill Moran of the U.S. Department of Interior's Indian Arts and Crafts Board. She says she hears reports of sellers ripping "Made in China" stickers off before the merchandise is displayed on shelves under a sign that claims it's "native-made."
Charles Harwood of the Federal Trade Commission says, "The scam isn't in selling items that come from China or the Philippines; that's perfectly legal as long as those items indicate their country of origin." The scam occurs when an item is said to be authentic—"Eskimo-made" or "Navajo-made"—but in fact is mass-produced overseas, Harwood says.
Selling counterfeit crafts is a federal crime with a penalty of up to $250,000 in fines and five years in prison. But despite widespread sales of fraudulent goods, only three cases have been prosecuted since the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 became law.
In one case, a Navajo woman pleaded guilty after buying rugs made in India and Mexico for about $50 and then selling them as Navajo-made for about $400—often to retirees who were volunteers at a national park in Arizona, says a federal investigator who asked that his name be withheld because he works on fraud cases. "One victim bought five rugs as Christmas gifts for her grandchildren. She lost thousands of dollars and was heartbroken when she learned they were fake." The seller will be sentenced in March.
The federal law addresses only the tribal authenticity of the craft-producing artisans and not what the crafts are made of, such as whether the sterling silver advertised in jewelry is real. And it only applies to Indian crafts. But consumers shopping for any genuine handicraft, from Amish quilts to Appalachian wood carvings, need to be alert to fakery.
To avoid being defrauded:
* Buy from established dealers. If you're unsure of the authenticity of an item, consult an expert at a museum or university.
* Get written proof — if only on the receipt — of any claims about authenticity (including the dollar value). A certification tag or other documents (such as artisan biographies) usually accompany genuine goods.
* Examine materials. True stonework, for example, is heavy and cool to the touch; fake resin items are lighter.
* Handmade jewelry is unique, with slight variations in each piece. Bird Rattler says that "if there are 10 other identical items on the shelf, that's a sign it's mass-produced."
Counterfeit items usually enter the United States with country-of-origin tags, stickers or etched-in markings. Examine items for signs of any removal.
If you suspect you were sold a fake Indian piece, contact the Indian Arts and Crafts Board toll-free at 1-888-278-3253 or file a complaint with the FTC
Sid Kirchheimer is the author of AARP/Sterling's Scam-Proof Your Life.
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