Only the real thing
Native American artists say counterfeits, knock-offs hurt them

Earl's Resstaurant in Gallup is internationally known for its fine food and offerings of Native American art. — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Staff Photo

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

GALLUP — Earl’s Restaurant in Gallup has been a tourist and local hotspot for decades with vendors on-site who have sold their arts and crafts directly to customers for generations.

With an estimated 1,000 vendors coming in to the restaurant to sell on a good weekend, it’s no wonder that some can slip by and misrepresent themselves or their products, though any misrepresentation is not tolerated, Ralph Richards, one of the owners of Earl’s, said.

When such an incident happens, Richards said that the restaurant has a three strike policy. For the first incident, a vendor cannot sell there for 30 days. A second violation prohibits a vendor from selling for 60 days. With a third violation, the vendor is out for good.

Counterfeits and cheap knock-offs of Indian arts and crafts jewelry affect the marketplace, where vendors have to sell their items at lower costs or resort to using cheaper material to sell at the lower cost.

“These imports have forced them to compete on that market level,” Richards said.

Angie Gray Benito, a vendor who sets up in the restaurant parking lot, agreed. She has been selling there since the restaurant was located across the street from its current location.

“They go around selling them real low. That hurts our stuff that we hand make,” she said.

Bryan Ben, a vendor who walks around inside the restaurant selling handmade pottery, said that misrepresentation also affects him.

“This happens a lot. They bring the prices down,” he said. He has seen some that try to copy his work.

On Tuesday, he had a Navajo etched pottery made from terra cotta clay for $200. Such pottery runs for $1,500 to $2,000 at galleries.

Even with the economy, sales for Ben’s pottery have been excellent, he said. He added that customers are appreciative when he explains the history and tradition behind the work.

“Earl’s is the best place to buy arts and crafts direct from the artist. Going elsewhere, considering the economy, they would be paying a lot,” he said.

For many of the vendors, selling at Earl’s is their livelihood. It’s how they feed their families and provides their income throughout the year.

“Most of the vendors here have been here for 30 to 40 years and they make a good, good living,” Richards said. “They’ve got families. They’ve got kids in school and they’re just trying to make a living.”

“We have a great relationship,” he added.

At one time the Council for Indigenous Arts Council helped the restaurant and its vendors by educating the general public about buying arts and crafts, and educating the vendors about such relevant topics as marketing and pricing. Quarterly meetings were held for about eight years, but those meetings have ceased.

The CIAC also used to do badges for sellers that identified which tribe the vendor was from and the products they sell as hand made, handcrafted and machine made.

Since the involvement of the CIAC has stopped, the restaurant has had to pick up the costs of printing educational brochures for consumers. The brochures are available at the restaurant and there is a display booth in the front that shows consumers the differences in stones and the terminology to know to buy arts and crafts.

To do the badges is too much for the management though, and that part of the program stopped. At the peak, there were about 1600 badges that were given out to vendors.

“It’s been well over a year, maybe two, that we haven’t heard anything from this council. That doesn’t mean we don’t follow the guidelines. We still advocate the guidelines to this day,” Richards said. “Does that mean something doesn’t slip through? We can’t control every transaction that goes on here at Earl’s or the city of Gallup .”

“It would be nice if we could start this program back up but we would have to come up with funding and staff,” he said.
Mostly now the vendors regulate themselves, especially the ones who are out in the vending lot. The ones that go inside, the restaurant crew is able to watch.

All that Richards asks of the vendors is for them to be honest with what they sell.

“That’s all we ask is tell the consumers the truth,” he said.
If people do witness vendors misrepresenting themselves or the arts and crafts, they are asked to contact Richards or one of his managers.

“We escort them out of the building and give them a copy of our guidelines,” he said about such vendors.

Out of the thousands of transactions that go on in the restaurant, Richards said incidences of misrepresentation only happen two to three times per year. The last one happened in September when a young girl was selling fetishes that were not genuine and told consumers she made them. Richards was able to get the money back.

“I realize if we shut them off, we shut down their livelihood, but that doesn’t give them the right to misrepresent their product,” he said.

Richards said that it’s important to catch those who misrepresent their products at the restaurant because “it hurts everybody. It hurts the vendors who are honest. It hurts the industry and it hurts our people.”

Richards said he noticed that when the economy gets tighter, such incidences of misrepresentation increase.

Often, a genuine piece of jewelry or other arts and crafts is bought and then shipped overseas for copying, Richards said. Though there are federal laws to protect the Native arts and crafts industry, importation is still allowed, he said.

He added, “What good do those laws do if there’s no one enforcing them on a higher level?”

To monitor the vendors would be a full-time job because Earl’s welcomes most vendors, as long as they follow the guidelines in place.

Despite the problems associated with sales of Native arts and crafts, Richards said that Earl’s will still allow vendors and that the compliments far outweigh any complaints.

“It’s just a great relationship and a great bond we have with our local people,” he said.

Richards would like to see the state take a more proactive approach and set up satellite stations to educate the public in cities and towns where the majority of Native arts and crafts are sold.