OPA

Have you been on or near an Indian reservation and become the proud owner of a concho belt, a squash blossom necklace or earrings, a beadwork purse, some linens, an Indian doll, or some other product representative of the resident Indian tribe? Are you sure that what you bought was a genuine handicraft of the Indians? It is easy to be fooled, and many manufacturers and dealers are getting rich by fooling you.

A special exhibit, "Indian Handicraft, the True and the False," on display in the Department of the Interior Museum at Washington, D. C., turns the spotlight on bogus Indian art.

In comparatively recent years, genuine Indian crafts have gained a growing popularity among the general public as more and more tourists and vacationers have traveled through so-called "Indian country", and as these crafts have appeared in shops and stores elsewhere.

Indian handicrafts began to be imitated as a profitable enterprise almost as soon as they created a market. Some Indians, of course, are pleased to cater to the "souvenir" penchant of many non-Indians by turning out cheap and virtually worthless wares as "Indian-made" curios. But the real competition--much of it unfair in the view of the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs-- stems from manufacturers and dealers who flood the market with imitations of Indian crafts from moccasins to linens to more expensive silver and gem-set jewelry, all mass-produced by machinery, much of it shipped in from Asiatic countries, and most passed off as the genuine Indian article.

"The American public, often unable to tell the difference between the genuine and the counterfeit, has unwittingly helped create a multimillion dollar industry in imitation Indian goods--an annual volume exceeding by far that of the genuine product," says Philleo Nash, Commissioner of Indian Affairs. "Not only are Indian citizens being denied a much-needed source of income, but they are being victimized by injustice and dishonesty which threaten the standards of fine Indian craftsmanship and the very existence of true Indian handicrafts. Moreover, the public is being cheated in dollars and cents and given a false idea of Indian arts and crafts."

Today Indian craftsmen are becoming increasingly proficient in the creation of imaginative and beautiful crafts. They are guided in the production of their crafts by their traders, their tribal arts and crafts guilds, and by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the Department of the Interior.

Probably the real heart of the imitation problem is that it is virtually impossible to copyright the individual Indian designs of the various crafts. Most Indian artists make up designs for each separate item of jewelry or other craft. The designs are purely imaginative, are not symbolic, and often have no particular Indian meaning. Even if Indian designs could be copyrighted, an imitator has only to alter a design in some trivial or minute way to avoid prosecution.

There is no law which prohibits the production or sale of imitations as long as they can be readily identified or recognized as such, but several States and the Federal Government have attempted by law to prevent the advertising or sale of imitations as genuine Indian products. The Federal law provides heavy fines-- up to $2,000 and jail sentences for those who knowingly sell imitation Indian items as the genuine article.

It is not easy to prosecute under this law or the similar State laws because of the lack of evidence in many instances, says Commissioner Nash. The duped are generally removed by time and distance from the event by the time they discover they have been cheated. Some are not aware that they can bring legal action; others apparently are indifferent.

Manufacturers and dealers in imitation Indian crafts flourish under the most obvious misrepresentation and sometimes blatant false advertising. Genuine articles and imitations are often displayed side by side, or intermingled, with the hope that the public will think the entire display is genuine. The device of the price disguise is used to influence those who are aware of the higher costs of genuine Indian crafts. An exorbitant price tag is affixed to an imitation of little value to mislead the prospective customer into thinking he has spotted an authentic article, and can get it at a bargain, perhaps.

Misleading labels are an effective device for fooling the public: PI Indian Design," "Indian Style," middle in the Heart of Indian Country," "Indian Type Jewelry, II and other designations that suggest, but do not openly say, that an article is a genuine, hand-made Indian craft.

Jewelry is an item that lends itself readily to duplication and machine production, and some of the imitation Indian jewelry is extremely hard to detect from the authentic. The use of sterling silver and genuine, hand-cut stones may result in a product of monetary and aesthetic value. It does not, of course, have the authenticity which probably led the buyer to make the purchase in the first place, and which he has every right to expect.

Changes in the material content and design of genuine Indian silversmithing, however, have made it a bit easier to spot the counterfeit from the genuine. The best Indian silversmiths use heavier silver than that used 15 or 20 years ago, and they have departed from the highly decorated, ornate pieces favored by the buying public before World War II. Today their designs are simple and clean lined in accordance with the Indian preference. The imitators, in many cases, seem not to have caught onto this departure yet, and many continue to turn out articles of lightweight metal with elaborate designs. Dealers often try to convince prospective purchasers that the design is a complex Indian symbol which "tells a story. If it does not.

The turquoise used by the Indian lapidarist, of whom the Zuni is considered most proficient, adds to the general confusion because of the colors and variety of the gem in its natural state. Zuni workers are true artists in cutting, polishing, matching and setting gems, and they work with coral, jet and shell as well as turquoise. But turquoise remains the most popular stone, and blue turquoise, preferred by the Indians, also is preferred by most non-Indian purchasers. The turquoise ranges from deep blue to deep green and some think the green shades are inferior stones. Actually, the color has no relation to the quality of the gem. Adding to the value of the stones, however, is the matrix, or design, formed by streaks of other metals in the gem, which make the "spider web", an effect that is highly prized.

Turquoise is easily duplicated in plastics, and some of the false stones are almost indistinguishable from the real gems. Some manufacturers also use a poor grade of turquoise which has been treated by oil or water baths to give it a temporary luster or sheen. In time, this dulls and "grays out."

In addition to the Indian jewelry of silver and turquoise, one of the most abused Indian crafts in forgeries and imitations is the beadwork of the Woodland and Plains Indians. This is being duplicated and shipped into the United States by the ton, mainly from Hong Kong, where it can be produced far cheaper than the American Indians can make it. The Asiatic producers have obtained samples of Indian designs and they are swamping the American curio market with beadwork belts, cigarette cases, purses and other articles, says Commissioner Nash.

Indian handcrafted baskets have come in for some duplication by producers and importers from other countries, but the distinctiveness of Indian designs and the high quality of Indian workmanship in basketry have made this craft less a victim of the imitator.

Navajo rugs and Pueblo pottery, too, are less vulnerable to the imitation market because they cannot be duplicated easily by machine methods to produce an inferior product at cheaper prices. The main exploitation of Pueblo pottery is done by some Indians who have lowered their standards to meet a tourist demand for small curio or souvenir articles. Their products are low-grade pots whose colors are put on with show card paint after firing. The finest Indian pottery is painted before firing with colors made permanent by being burned in through firing in a natural kiln.

Some manufacturers of blankets have produced coverings in Indian designs and often called their products "Indian blankest but generally only the most gullible are fooled. The Navajos do not make blankets, but produce varieties of rugs which are distinctive and identifiable with the type of weave, coloration and design. Depending upon their design, size, and coloration, they are used as wall tapestry or floor coverings.

Mr. Nash points out that there are many honest dealers in imitation Indian goods who indicate by proper labeling and by verbal explanation that their wares are not genuine Indian handicrafts. Unfortunately, some dealers in imitation Indian goods are as unable as their customers to tell the real from the false, and may themselves be the victims of false advertising.

"The best protection against trickery in the purchase of Indian crafts is a thorough knowledge of the characteristics of fine craftsmanship as originated by Indian artisans," says Nash. It was with this in mind that the Arts and Crafts Board assembled its True and False exhibit in the Department of the Interior Museum, where many Washington, D. C., visitors and residents drop in daily. But even experts can be fooled by some of the imitations being turned out today, so there are good tips for everyone to follow to avoid being duped and cheated in the purchase of Indian products:

1. Buy only from a dealer whose reputation for honesty and for handling authentic Indian goods is above reproach. Local inquiry can generally establish who these dealers are. As a rule, they will be the tribal guilds, the traders on the reservations, or dealers whose business reputation is based on the sale of only authentic crafts of the highest quality. The latter is likely to be an expert on Indian crafts, and he will get his wares directly from the craftsman or from a source he knows to be absolutely reliable.
2. In cases where the dealer's reputation cannot be easily or conveniently established, your best safeguard is to ask some rather pointed questions. Ask the dealer if the piece is handmade by an Indian; ask him where it was made; obtain the name of the artist and get the name of the tribe to which he belongs. Write down the answers.
3. If you purchase the item, ask for a receipt and the dealer's written certification that the article is, to the best of his knowledge, handmade by an Indian and of genuine materials. No honest dealer will refuse this request. If you find later that a dealer's personal certification is false, so advise the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Department of the Interior, Washington 25, D. C., and send along your purchase so that the Board may refer it to the appropriate district attorney for legal action.
4. Look for labels that guarantee authenticity and do not be taken in by those which may have a misleading implication. Mail order purchases should be questioned as thoroughly as those made personally, and a dealer's certification of authenticity obtained.

"Indian craftsmen fear an increasing loss of income from their work, and fear also that continued sale of the cheap imitations will result in lowered respect for true Indian craft," Commissioner Nash says.

"Only the buying public can remedy the situation, by being hard to fool, and firm in demanding genuine Indian crafts of the highest quality. Then those producing forgeries and imitations no longer will find it profitable to deal in duplicity or duplication."

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has agreed to make loans that may be needed for reactivation of a tribally operated steer enterprise on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana, the Department of the Interior announced today.

Prime significance of the move, Commissioner Philleo Nash pointed out, is that it will permit the Northern Cheyenne Indians to make use of their own lands in a business which holds promise of providing good economic returns to the Tribe and job opportunities for individual tribal members. The enterprise will be owned and operated by the Tribe as a Federal corporation and individual tribal members will, in effect, be stockholders.

Plans developed by the Tribe call for eventually building up a herd of 5,000 head, for hiring a professional manager, and for seeking technical help from Montana State College.

The Northern Cheyenne Steer Enterprise was established in 1937 and was financed by loans received from the Bureau over a period of 10 years. All of these were repaid in full. In 1947, the Enterprise had 2,000 head of cattle on hand, debt free, and about $50,000 in cash. Subsequently, however, the condition of the Enterprise deteriorated and it was terminated in 1957.

"Reactivation of the program," Commissioner Nash said, "has been under consideration for a long time. With the experience gained in operation of the Enterprise, it should be possible to develop a plan which will overcome the difficulties experienced in the past. “

The Tribe is planning to make its first purchase of steers in the spring of 1963.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall will dedicate Navajo Dam, first completed major storage unit of the Colorado River Storage Project, in New Mexico on Saturday, September 15, and the new Four Corners marker and highway across the Navajo Indian Reservation on Sunday, September 16. The Four Corners marker designates where boundaries of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona come together, the only such point in the United States.

Secretary Udall will leave Washington Friday for Farmington, New Mexico. Navajo Dam is on the San Juan River, approximately 45 miles from Farmington. The New Mexico Congressional delegation and the Governors of the Four Corners States have been invited to participate.

Navajo Dam has been under construction for four years by a joint venture company consisting of Morrison-Knudsen Company, Inc., Henry J. Kaiser, and the F &S Contracting Company on a contract for $26,195,000. Total expenditure to date on the entire unit has reached $35,000,000. First storage of water was accomplished last July.

The impoundment of water at Navajo was the first at any of the storage units of the Colorado River Storage Project. Plans are to begin storage in the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in November 1962, and in Lake Powell, behind Glen Canyon Dam, early in 1963.

Reclamation Commissioner Floyd E. Dominy, who will also attend the dedication, said Navajo Dam is the second largest earth dam constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation. It stands about 40 stories high, stretches 3,800 feet from wall to wall of the narrow valley through which the San Juan River flows, and contains 26,300,000 cubic yards of compacted earth and rock-fill. Approximately 1,750 man years of on-site labor were expended in its construction with a total payroll of over $12 million and an additional $24 million was expended for services, equipment and supplies which reached to all parts of the country.

When filled, Navajo reservoir will be 35 miles long with a total storage capacity of 1,709,000 acre-feet. About 100,000 acre-feet has been impounded this summer and development of recreational facilities and fishery resources is already under way. The reservoir is in both New Mexico and Colorado, and appropriate agencies of both States are undertaking administration of public-use facilities.

Navajo Dam and reservoir will make possible the direct diversion of water for the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project and also the transmountain upstream diversion required for the San Juan-Chama Project which will benefit lands and municipalities along the Rio Grande River. Both projects were authorized by Congress this year.

The Navajo road dedication will mark successful c6mpletion of long-time efforts by the Navajo Trail Association for construction of an all-weather primary highway across southern Colorado into and through the Indian reservation country of the Four Corners area. The new highway is a link in Secretary Udall's "Golden Circle" plan to connect major parks and monuments in the region by adequate roads. The new highway will be a key link between Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado and the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and Zion National Park in Utah.

The new Four Corners marker was designed by the Bureau of Land Management and constructed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The three top officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs--Commissioner Philleo Nash, Deputy Commissioner John O. Crow, and Associate Commissioner James E. Officer--will travel extensively through Indian areas of Oklahoma, consulting with Indian leaders and visiting Indian families in their homes, during the week starting March 4, the Department of the Interior announced today.

On the afternoon of Sunday, March 4, the three officials will attend a meeting at Ponca City with representatives of the Pawnee, Otoe-Missouri, Ponca, and Tonkawa tribes in western Oklahoma and the Potawatomie, Sac and Fox, Iowa and Kickapoo tribes of Kansas. In traveling to the meeting from Oklahoma City by automobile Sunday morning, they will go through Guthrie and Perry and visit Indian families in their homes.

On March 5 through 7 they will meet with all ten Area Directors of the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Oklahoma City for a periodic review of Bureau programs and policies.

On the afternoon of Thursday, March 8, the three men will meet at Concho with Cheyenne and Arapaho representatives and that evening Commissioner Nash will be principal speaker at a chamber of commerce banquet in El Reno. In the morning they will travel by automobile through Geary, Watonga and Clinton to visit additional Indian families in their homes. On this trip they will be accompanied by Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Chairman Woodrow Wilson.

On Friday, March 9, the three officials will meet in the morning at the Riverside School in Anadarko with representatives of the Caddo, Wichita and Delaware tribes and in the afternoon with Kiowa, Comanche and Apache tribal members at Lawton.

On Saturday, March 10, a morning conference will be held at Shawnee with representatives of the Potawatomie, Sac and Fox, Iowa and Kickapoo tribes of Oklahoma and an afternoon meeting will take place at Pawhuska with Osage tribal members.

The three officials will return to Washington Sunday, March 11.

Appointment of Roderick H. Riley, former economic advisor to the U. S. Information Agency, as assistant and economic advisor to Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash was reported today by the Department of the Interior.

A career civil servant and native of Antigo, Wisc., Riley entered Federal service in 1933 as research assistant to the late Senator Robert M. La Follette, In He has been with USIA for the past two years.

Riley's other Federal positions have included those of executive director of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress (1958-60), economic advisor to the small Defense Plants Administration (1952-53), special assistant to the Secretary of Commerce (1948-51), and director of research in the Office of Price Administration (1941-4'7).

In 1945 he served on the U. S. Strategic Bombing Survey in Germany and in 1951-52 was an economist in the Bureau of German Affairs, Department of State. Riley's Federal career was interrupted for temporary appointments as assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas (1933-36) and the University of Cincinnati (1938-39), as well as by private practice as a consulting economist in Milwaukee from 1954 to 1958.

He was graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Wisconsin in 1930 where he subsequently received the M.A. and Ph. D. degrees. In 1930-31 he studied at the University of Muenster in Germany under an exchange fellowship.

His published work includes his doctoral dissertation, in the field of U. S. financial history, and two monographs written in collaboration with others: the official report on "The Effects of strategic Bombing on the German War Economy" (1945) and a Stanford Research Institute study of the economic feasibility of expanded defense budgets (1960).

Riley is a member of the American Economic Association, the Royal Economic Society, the Cosmos Club of Washington, D. C., and the Wisconsin Union of Madison, Wise.

He currently makes his home in Bethesda, Md., is married and has three daughters.

Award of a $1,437,000 contract for the construction of school facilities at Toadlena, New Mexico, on the Navajo Indian Reservation was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The new facilities to be constructed include two 192-pupi1 dormitories, a 360-pupi1 kitchen-dining room building, a 13-c1assroom school with a multipurpose from, a utility building, employees' quarters and a four-stall garage. The existing school will be remodeled, and the streets, walks and all utilities will be improved. These new facilities, when complete, will replace old, unsanitary, and unsound school facilities, and will permit an increase of 75 pupils in the school's enrollment.

The successful bidder was H. R. McBride Construction Company of Farmington, New Mexico. Twelve higher bids, ranging from $1,477,826.00 to $1,722,000.00 were received.

Appointment of George M. Felshaw, a veteran of more than 20 years' service with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as superintendent of the Western Washington Indian Agency, Everett, Wash., effective May 1, was announced today by Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall.

Felshaw, who has been in charge of the Bureau's field relocation office at Los Angeles since 1957, replaces Clarence W. Ringey who is transferring to the Bureau's area office at Aberdeen, S. Dak., April 29. Ringey has been superintendent at Everett since 1955.

Born at Pima, Ariz., in 1913, Felshaw first came with the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a stockman on the Navajo Reservation in 1938. After four years in this position, he had three years of service with the Army during World War II. In 1945 he returned to the Bureau as district supervisor on the Navajo Reservation. Three years later he was transferred to placement work at Salt Lake City and subsequently served in this work at Phoenix and Window Rock, Arizona. In 1955 he was appointed relocation officer at Muskogee, Okla. After 18 months in this assignment, he was put in charge of the relocation field office at San Francisco where he served until his transfer to Los Angeles in 1957.

Before joining the Indian Bureau, he had service in Arizona with the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Soil Conservation Service. He is a graduate of the high school at Safford, Ariz., and attended Gila Junior College, Thatcher, Ariz., from 1931 to 1933.

Ringey, another veteran of the Indian Service, will be in charge of land operations in the Aberdeen area embracing North and South Dakota and Nebraska.

He joined the Bureau in 1931 as a farm agent at Ponemah, Minn., and served in positions of increasing responsibility in Minnesota and Wisconsin over a period of more than 20 years. In 1954 he was appointed superintendent of the Umatilla Agency, Pendleton, Oreg., and one year later was transferred to his present post, Everett, Wash. He was born at Clarissa, Minn., in 1904

In response to wishes of the tribal membership, the Department of the Interior has proposed legislation providing for division of tribal assets of the Ponca Indians of northeastern Nebraska and discontinuing their special Indian relations with the Federal Government, Assistant Secretary John A. Carver, Jr., reported today.

Under a bill suggested to Congress by the Department, division of the assets would be made only if approved by a majority of the adult members of the tribe.

The bill provides that each member of the tribe would be given the opportunity of selecting not more than five acres of tribal land as a homesite, but would be required to pay the tribe its current market value. All tribal lands remaining after these homesite purchases would be sold by the Government and the proceeds distributed among the eligible tribal members.

The tribal land now consists of about 690 acres valued at approximately $70,000. In addition, tribal trust funds totaling about $28,000 and Federal property worth approximately $7,400 would be included in the distribution. Under the bill, individuals eligible to share in the property distribution would be those whose names appear on a tribal membership roll prepared in 1934 and 1935, together with their living descendants of one-fourth or more Ponca blood. Although the number of these eligible is not now known, the Bureau estimates it as approximately 525. About 130 of these live on or near the reservation.

In addition to the tribally owned land there are 13 tracts comprising about 2,180 acres on the reservation which were allotted years ago to individual tribal members. As a result of inheritance, 387 individuals now share the ownership of these tracts. Under the proposed bill, Federal restrictions against their sale would be removed three years after enactment. Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Interior would have authority to sell any tracts and distribute the proceeds upon application of those owning a one-fourth or more interest in the particular parcel.

Legislation to provide for property division has been requested by the Poncas at several tribal meetings beginning in early 1957. Terms similar to the proposed bill were unanimously approved by those present at meetings in 1959 and again in 1961, and were favored by a substantial majority of those responding to a mailed Questionnaire.

Selection of Dale M. Baldwin, superintendent of the Fort Peck Indian Agency, Poplar, Mont., as the new superintendent of the Nevada agency, Stewart, Nev., effective April 29, was announced today by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior.

Baldwin succeeds Burton A. Ladd, who is retiring after nearly 34 years' service with the Indian Bureau. A new superintendent for the Fort Peck Agency has not been selected.

A native of New Castle, Pa., Baldwin was graduated from Oregon state College in 1949 and entered on duty immediate thereafter with the Indian Bureau as a soil conservationist at the Colville Agency, Nespelem, Wash. Two years later he moved to the Umatilla Agency in Oregon and subsequently served at the Fort Hall Agency in Idaho and the Riverside Sub-Agency in California. In 1957 he joined the Washington staff of the Bureau as a program officer and two years later was appointed superintendent at Fort Peck. He had three years' service with the Army during World War II and attained the rank of captain.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior and the Federal Housing Administration of the Housing and Home Finance Agency today jointly announced the signing of an agreement opening up new possibilities for FHA-insured financing of home building and housing improvements on Indian reservations.

Such financing has been available in the past, but its availability has been limited by complications arising from the trust or restricted status of most Indian-owned land.

Under the new agreement, FHA, if its normal requirements are met, will insure mortgages on land owned by Indians in trust or restricted status as well as mortgages on Indian leaseholds. A procedure has been established to assist lenders in obtaining the necessary consent by the BIA to the execution of a mortgage by an Indian on trust or restricted property.

In the case of lands leased by Indian applicants, the lease must have an unexpired term of at least 50 years from the date of mortgage execution and must be in a form approved by FHA. A lease executed for 25 years and simultaneously extended for an additional 25 years will meet this requirement.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs agreed to furnish mortgagees or FHA, upon request, with available credit information on Indians applying for FHA-insured loans and to assist Indian borrowers in discharging their obligations under the insured mortgages.

The agreement was signed by Commissioner Philleo Nash of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Commissioner Neal J. Hardy of the Federal Housing Administration.