![]() ![]() The shopper examines the pair for a moment, then pulls out his wallet. “They’re normally $65, but for today, they’re $30,” replies the vendor. Education Images/UIG via Getty Imagesīrowsing a table with what looks like the familiar turquoise jewelry associated with the Southwest, I overhear a nearby shopper ask, “How much for these?” He holds up a pair of rectangular, ocean-green drop earrings. For one weekend in mid-August, the city transforms itself into this bustling bazaar 100,000 people peruse thousands of vendors’ tables and tents in search of authentic Native American crafts - pottery, rugs, leather goods, jewelry. ![]() I happen to find myself, by accident, in downtown Santa Fe the weekend of Indian Market. The conflict over misrepresented and counterfeit Native American goods, manifested in this watershed investigation, would reach its apex in August, when Nael Ali, a jewelry retailer in New Mexico, would receive the harshest punishment - and only prison sentence - to date for any violator of the act. Manasra would be but one of two co-defendants to be sentenced for violations against the 80-year-old Indian Arts and Crafts Act. ![]() Manasra’s plea agreement would eventually lead to a misdemeanor charge and two days of imprisonment, the forfeiture of 5,268 pieces of Native American-style jewelry, a $500 fine, and a year’s supervised release. “I don’t think calling this cultural appropriation is adequate,” Liz Wallace, a Native American artist who acted as a point of contact for the US attorney prosecuting Manasra’s case, told me. All were awaiting their moment to speak against Mohammad Manasra, who helped organize the biggest known international and illegal supply chain to sell fake Native American jewelry in the US. Navajo and Pueblo artists sat among the governor of the Zuni Nation and members of his tribe, some of whom wore “Made in Zuni” T-shirts. They had come to testify in front of the federal judge who would decide on sentencing in the country’s largest criminal case involving counterfeit Native American goods. In a courtroom in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in early May, dozens of Native Americans spanning a handful of tribes gathered in solidarity. ![]()
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