Legislature(1995 - 1996)
03/26/1996 03:35 PM Senate STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 273 NATIVE HANDICRAFTS & INSTATE PRODUCTS
Number 001
CHAIRMAN SHARP called the Senate State Affairs Committee to order
at 3:35 p.m. and brought up SB 273 as the first order of business
before the committee. He called Senator Lincoln to testify.
Number 030
SENATOR GEORGIANNA LINCOLN, prime sponsor of SB 273, informed the
committee that some of the native arts and crafts she brought to
the hearing are genuine, and some are not. SB 273 would require
sellers of native handicrafts with a retail value of over $100.00
to display a poster at least 11 inches by 17 inches. There has to
be a certificate of origin also. She noted that not even all of
the senators on the committee were able to correctly identify which
handicrafts she brought to the hearing were genuine, and which were
not. Senator Lincoln displayed handicrafts and explained which
ones were made in Alaska by Alaska Natives, and which were not.
She related some of the circumstances under which the non-genuine
articles were made. One man sold the rights to his name to a
company in Seattle that then has handicrafts manufactured in the
Philippines with that man's name on them. Some of the other
articles were made in the lower forty-eight and Bali. Senator
Lincoln stated the problem of mis-representation of whether
handicrafts are genuinely made in Alaska by Alaska Natives or not
is becoming more and more pronounced.
Number 160
SENATOR LINCOLN stated that presently, about 80% of the
$78,000,000.00 that was spent in 1994 on gifts and souvenirs is
questionable as to whether those gifts and souvenirs were even made
in Alaska. SB 273 would make those persons guilty of
counterfeiting or misrepresentation of Alaska Native handicrafts
liable for up to a $1,000.00 fine and or up to 90 days in jail.
CHAIRMAN SHARP asked if there were any questions for Senator
Lincoln at this time.
Number 186
SENATOR LEMAN asked what percent native a person would have to be
to qualify for this program, and does the work have to be produced
in Alaska?
SENATOR LINCOLN responded a person has to be at least one-fourth or
more Alaska Native Ancestry. That is defined within the bill. The
work does have to be produced in Alaska.
CHAIRMAN SHARP, hearing no further questions, stated the committee
would take testimony via teleconference.
Number 200
CLEMENT UNGOTT, testifying from Gambell, stated he is an eskimo who
was born and raised on St. Laurence Island, Gambell, Alaska. Mr.
Ungott stated he supports SB 273, because handicrafts are the only
source of income for his people. Inauthentic handicrafts have been
damaging to the native carvers, and Mr. Ungott has seen his own
work reproduced, but he doesn't know where it's occurring or who is
doing it.
Number 240
COMMISSIONER WILLIE HENSLEY, Department of Commerce & Economic
Development, testifying from Anchorage, stated the Silver Hand
Program has been part of state law since shortly after statehood.
Today there are about 530 Silver Hand artists enrolled in the
program, and 25 Silver Hand agents. SB 273 will help keep
fraudulent production of Alaska Native arts and crafts out of the
market place. He doesn't think it will solve the problem, but he
thinks it will be a big help. It will promote the sale and value
of authentically produced Native arts and crafts. It will also
help educate the public about the Silver Hand Program and the
certificate of origin. A large proportion of the items sold as
Native arts and crafts are considered to be fraudulent. Arts and
crafts represent a major portion of income for natives. The amount
of opportunity for rural villages will increase significantly if we
can reduce the fraudulent productions that are on the market. We
have an obligation to protect this market if we are serious about
stimulating private sector economic growth and independence for
rural Alaska. Commissioner Hensley thinks that dependance will
increase on this type of income. SB 273 would implement
recommendations made by the Native Arts & Crafts Task Force. The
idea would be not to use general funds for this program, but to
utilize program receipts to fund it. He urges support for SB 273.
Number 285
SENATOR LEMAN asked Commissioner Hensley where program receipts
would come from.
COMMISSIONER HENSLEY responded they would use private sector
contributions, federal grants, and private foundation funding for
the $18,000.00 fiscal note.
SENATOR LEMAN wondered if it would make sense to try to sell the
posters for several dollars apiece.
COMMISSIONER HENSLEY responded it was their inclination to provide
them to vendors.
Number 299
ANGIE LARSON, Member - Native Arts & Crafts Task Force, Alaska
Treasures, testifying from Anchorage, stated she's been a Native
arts and crafts wholesaler for 17 years. Her concern is that the
fraud in the industry is drowning genuine Alaska Native arts and
crafts to extinction. There are so many mass-produced Native style
products that the consumer cannot always tell the difference. It
is hard to compete with mass-produced products sold for half the
price. She asked committee members to support SB 273. This is not
a Native problem, it is an Alaskan problem.
Number 317
TEDDY MAYAC, testifying from Anchorage, stated he is an eskimo
ivory carver and has been associated with the Native arts and
crafts industry in Alaska for over 30 years. He supports SB 273.
He wants to see the termination of unethical practices which have
been initiated by unscrupulous dealers. These profiteers are using
Native Alaskan names, which are given names belonging only to each
craftsperson. These individuals are also copying Native Alaskan
styles without permission from the artist whose work they copy, and
often times mass produce. The counterfeit works most always under-
sell the authentic pieces, thereby undermining the whole
infrastructure of the Native Alaskan arts and crafts industry. Mr.
Mayac fully supports SB 273 because it strengthens the
disadvantaged position of the rural Alaskan craftspeople who, more
than any other artists, deserve protection to obtain fair market
prices for their works. In addition, the Native arts and crafts
industry is, for the most part, the only viable means of obtaining
income for a very high percentage of Native people in Alaska. SB
273 is long overdue; the State of Alaska is mandated to protect all
it's citizens. It is a beginning step towards fair treatment of
the Native Alaskans who depend on this industry to make a living.
Number 345
It is noted that Chuck McGee, a representative of the Silver Hands
Program within the Department of Commerce & Economic Development is
available on-line to answer questions.
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS asked Mr. McGee if he has a copy of the
bill.
MR. MCGEE responded he does.
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS asked him about the language on the last two
lines of page 2 "...all materials used to produce the handicraft
are legal for the buyer to possess in the United States." Can Mr.
McGee expound on that? Senator Phillips stated that several years
ago he was in the Canadian Arctic, and was given a walrus tie pin,
which he was not allowed to take out of Canada. He wondered if the
language on page 2 would affect foreign persons buying Alaskan
Native products. What about possession other than in the United
States?
MR. MCGEE thinks that would apply if the item was not legal to hold
in possession in the United States, then the buyer would not be
allowed to own that or take it out of the country. The Department
of Commerce & Economic Development provides to stores a booklet
that identifies all of the materials, particularly mammal parts,
that are legal for taking across international boundaries, as well
as taking out of Alaska. He stated that Ms. Larson has something
to add to that question.
Number 380
MS. LARSON stated she can explain that language. There are a lot
of questions and misunderstandings about walrus ivory and the
purchase of it, even from U.S. citizens. When tourists come to
Alaska, all they've heard about is elephant ivory. They know it's
illegal and the generalize all forms of ivory. So that was put in
the bill to clarify that it was ok for them to buy these materials.
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS stated that if you get ivory in another
country and bring it back to this country, you run into some
problems.
MS. LARSON replied that this only pertains to ivory purchased in
Alaska to clarify that it is ok.
SENATOR DONLEY asked what the rules are for purchase in Alaska.
MS. LARSON responded, Native made walrus ivory products can be sold
and purchased anywhere in the U.S. If it's pre-1972 ivory, there
are non-Natives who can use it, but it must carry a certain
warrantee with it.
CHAIRMAN SHARP asked about seal skins or articles made from seal.
MS. LARSON replied that articles made out of seal are ok in the
U.S., and most countries will accept that also, but it must be
Native made in Alaska.
CHAIRMAN SHARP stated he was in Canada and he bought what he
thought was a seal product. However, he was not allowed to bring
it back into the country in Fairbanks.
MS. LARSON responded there are a lot of politics between Canada and
the U.S. on these things. You can't take it their way, and they
can't take it our way. But that's another subject.
CHAIRMAN SHARP asked if there were any other questions on SB 273 by
committee members.
Number 410
SENATOR DONLEY made a motion to discharge SB 273 from the Senate
State Affairs Committee with individual recommendations.
CHAIRMAN SHARP, hearing no objection, stated SB 273 was discharged
from the Senate State Affairs Committee.
SENATOR LINCOLN informed committee members that the fraudulent
items she brought to the hearing today are on loan from the
Anchorage Museum, which is having an exhibit of counterfeit
products. These items were purchased by an undercover agent from
Anchorage stores that said the items were authentic Alaskan Native
made items.
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