Code of Federal Regulations Title 25. Indians § 25.309.7 How should a seller disclose the nature and degree of Indian labor when selling, offering, or displaying art and craft work for sale?

The Indian Arts and Crafts Act is a truth-in-marketing law. Those who produce and market art and craft work should honestly represent and clarify the degree of Indian involvement in the production of the art and craft work when it is sold, displayed or offered for sale. The following guidelines illustrate the way in which art and craft work may be characterized for marketing purposes and gives examples of products that may be marketed as Indian products.

¹ For example, a necklace strung with overseas manufactured fetishes or heshi. If an Indian assembled the necklace, in keeping with the truth-in-marketing focus of the Act, it can be marketed as “Indian assembled.” It does not meet the definition of “Indian product” under the Act. Similarly, if a product, such as a dream catcher is assembled by an Indian from a kit, it can be marketed as “Indian assembled.” It does not meet the definition of “Indian product” under the Act.

² In order to be an “Indian product,” the labor component of the product must be entirely Indian. In keeping with this truth-in-marketing law, a collaborative work should be marketed as such. Therefore, it should be marketed as produced by “X” (name of artist or artisan), “Y” (Tribe of individual's enrollment) or (name of Tribe providing official written certification the individual is a non-member Indian artisan and date upon which such certification was issued by the Tribe), and “Z” (name of artist or artisan with no Tribe listed) to avoid providing false suggestions to consumers.