Hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee - Opening Statement of Sen. Heinrich, Hearing on Cultural Sovereignty Series: Modernizing the Indian Arts and Crafts Act to Honor Native Identity and Expression

Hearing

I would like to thank Senator Udall for his leadership.

Senator Udall is a staunch ally for Indian Country and I appreciate you hosting this hearing and the opportunity to join you.

I'd also like to thank the Senate Indian Affairs Committee staff for all your hard work leading up to today's hearing on such an important issue for New Mexico.

I would also like to thank our panelists for taking the time to be here to provide testimony before the committee.

Your testimony is crucial to helping Congress and the Administration better understand and protect American Indian art.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank the Santa Fe Police Department and the Capitol Police for being here today.

I appreciate your service and dedication.

In New Mexico, we all recognize the incredible beauty of American Indian art--from the art left long ago on canyon walls in places like Chaco Canyon and the Gila Cliff Dwellings to the traditional and modern art masterpieces created by Native artists to this day.

Here in Santa Fe, some of our nation's leading Native artists are trained at the Santa Fe Indian School and at the Institute of American Arts.

And more than 1,000 Native artists gather here every August to display and sell their art at the Annual Santa Fe Indian Market.

The sale of Native American art and craftwork is a tremendous economic driver for tribal communities in our state and throughout Indian Country.

New Mexicans understand the value of supporting true tribal artists and recognize the dangers posed by counterfeit items or items claiming to be Native produced.

For centuries, the United States has used appropriation of Native cultures as a tool of colonization.

Today, when non-Indians sell jewelry or pottery as "Indian art," they are denying the right of tribal communities to define and control what tribal art is.

This cultural appropriation removes Native art and traditions from their rightful context and denies the right of tribal communities to maintain sovereignty over their history and culture.

When tribal communities are denied ownership of their own cultures, they lose the ability to maintain their language, their beliefs, and their way of life.

The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 is essentially a truth-in-advertising law that prohibits misrepresentation or falsely displaying arts or crafts as Indian-produced.

We're here today to learn more about whether that law is working and what steps we need to take to make sure all products are marketed truthfully so Native artists can thrive in an ethical marketplace.

I would also like to quickly touch on another important issue, which I have been proud to work on with Senator Udall and tribes in New Mexico.

Many tribes in New Mexico have experienced people stealing and trafficking objects that are not art, but their essential religious and cultural patrimony.

When somebody steals and sells a tribe's cultural patrimony they are stealing that tribe's traditions and identity.

Last month, I was proud to reintroduce the bipartisan Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony--or STOP--Act, a bill to prohibit the exporting of sacred Native American items and increase penalties for stealing and illegally trafficking tribal cultural patrimony.

I announced the bill's reintroduction during a meeting with students from the Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Institute's Summer Policy Academy in my office in Washington.

I was moved by these students' perspectives and personal stories.

They talked a lot about the responsibility they felt to preserve their cultural heritage and fulfill their sacred trust as generations before them have.

That is what's at the heart of today's hearing for me.

With that, I thank all of you again, and I look forward to hearing from our two panels.

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