Artists Charged With Pretending To Be Native American To Sell Their Work
Image ID 40450597 © via Dave Newman | Dreamstime.com
Two artists have been charged with falsely representing themselves as Native American to sell traditional artifacts. Lewis Anthony Ruth and Jerry Chris Van Dyke, both from Washington, have been accused of violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which criminalizes the sale of counterfeit Native American works.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, the pair separately sold pieces such as masks, totem poles, and pendants at art galleries in down Seattle, passing themselves off as having Native American heritage.
“By flooding the market with counterfeit Native American art and craftwork, these crimes cheat the consumer, undermine the economic livelihood of Native American artists, and impairs Indian culture,” said Edward Grace, Assistant Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Law Enforcement Office.
Investigations into Van Dyke began in February 2019, when the Indian Arts and Crafts Board received a tip that the artist had been assuming the identity of a Nez Perce tribe member, despite having no official affiliation with the group. An undercover team reached out to purchase carved pendants, based on Aleut masks, from a gallery at Pike Place Market.
Once it was confirmed that he had no Native American ties and was lying about the origins of the artifacts, authorities charged Van Dyke with two counts of misrepresenting Indian-produced goods, each of which could see him in prison for up to five years.
According to Artnet News, in May 2019, following another tip to the Board, a similar investigation was launched to look into Rath. Officials bought carved totem poles and necklaces from two galleries, including the one which sold Van Dyke’s work, confirming that the items were branded as belonging to the San Carlos Apache Tribe.
Rath has faced similar charges to Van Dyke, in addition to one count of possessing golden eagle parts, and one count of possessing migratory bird parts. The two additional sentences could see him face up to one year prison sentence each.
[via Artnet News, cover image via Dave Newman | Dreamstime.com]
Also check out these recent news
