First Nations art, from hand-carved masks to totem poles, draws on generations of tradition and skill and can take months to craft.
But a flood of counterfeits produced in Asia and Eastern Europe are exploiting indigenous culture, artists say, and stealing income from them.
One of the well-known Aboriginal artists whose images are reproduced without permission is British Columbia sculptor Richard Hunt.
“I stopped making postcards using my work when I discovered her. In Bali, Indonesia, they make Northwest Coast Masks. They sell them as indigenous items,” he said.
“These things need to be stopped. We need government help. It’s like the dream catcher from Taiwan or China. Buyers beware. »
The federal government is receiving calls for action, including from a senator who wants copyright law reform, a unit to help Indigenous artists track down counterfeits, and stronger controls on borders for native style art.
Mr Hunt said increasing tariffs on imports of copies could slow them down, but he added that counterfeits were being mass-produced, which made it more difficult for young First Nations carvers to earn their living.
Senator Patricia Bovey, the first art historian to serve in the Senate, said the fake Indigenous art industry can be worth millions of dollars and violates artists’ intellectual property rights.
She lobbies the government to reform copyright law to better protect Indigenous artists from unscrupulous companies reproducing their images without their knowledge.
Unauthorized and counterfeit Indigenous works range from reproductions of First Nations art on t-shirts, bedspreads, bowls and plastic bags, to carved masks and totem poles made from Indian wood. South East Asia.
Many of these objects are near-exact copies of original works on display in art galleries across Canada, and the problem is particularly acute for West Coast art.
Mme Bovey wants ministers to set up a unit to help Indigenous artists whose work is being reproduced without their knowledge track down those who have infringed their copyright, so that they at least get paid.
Not only do Indigenous artists have their creations stolen, she says, but people who buy Indigenous works in Canada and abroad may not know that they are fake or that they were produced without the permission of the artist.
Mme Bovey was shocked to find that some images on orange t-shirts made following the discovery of unmarked graves last year have been reproduced without the artists’ knowledge by for-profit, non-fundraising companies for indigenous causes.
She cautions buyers of Indigenous artwork to ask where the artwork is from, if it was made with the artist’s permission, and if the artist is being paid.
“It’s a really serious problem,” she said. It is to plagiarize the work, it is to appropriate the work and […] artists don’t have the resources to fight all of this in court. »
Helping Indigenous artists get their copyrights back would be an example of “reconciliation action,” the senator added.
She wants an upcoming review of the Copyright Act by Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez and Innovation and Science Minister François-Phillippe Champagne to include protections for Indigenous works, which she says , are an integral part of Canadian culture and history.
Not only should there be specific safeguards for artists, but a mechanism to track down companies making indigenous works or not paying artists’ royalties, including in China and Eastern Europe, she said. declared.
Alex Wellstead, spokesman for Mr Champagne, said the revised Copyright Act would “further protect artists, creators and copyright holders”.
“Indigenous peoples and artists will be consulted during the process,” he added.
Current copyright law provides protection for Indigenous artisans, including Inuit carvers and jewellers, but Mme Bovey noted that the process is so complex and takes so long to pursue that few artists have the time to do it.
She also wants tighter border controls and investigations into the provenance and destination of art in Canadian Indigenous styles, especially that made from wood that is not native to Canada.
According to Lucinda Turner, an apprentice of sculptor Norman Tait, fake masks and Indigenous carvings have been openly sold to tourists in Vancouver as genuine.
Mme Turner, who died this week, spent years documenting, tracking and challenging fraudulent Indigenous works claiming to be genuine, and lectured on the subject.
Mr Hunt said she had done a lot to draw attention to the illicit trade and had helped many indigenous artists claim their copyrights.
Speaking at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, she said a few copied mahogany carvings looked so authentic they had been exhibited in Canadian galleries.
Among the forgeries she has identified are reproductions of 19th century sculpture in major museums, such as a beaver rattle from the British Museum, and copies of works by contemporary North West Coast artists, including the famous sculptor Bill Reid.
She lobbied the federal government for greater protection for Indigenous artists, calling for a law, like in the United States, with huge fines for the sale of Indigenous works that are not authentic.
The US Indian Arts and Crafts Act criminalizes any misrepresentation and copying of Native art. There is also a hotline south of the border to easily report unauthorized copying.
In an open letter to the federal government, she called for action to tackle misrepresentations in the online marketplace.
Mme Bovey, who plans to raise the issue again with ministers when the Senate returns from its summer recess, said few realize that Indigenous art for sale in Canadian stores may be made in China, Eastern Europe and Taiwan.
“Buyers don’t know, artists can’t afford to monitor and predators have a good time,” she said. It’s stealing their iconography. It’s stealing people’s cultural heritage and it’s morally and legally wrong. »
The Canada Border Services Agency said there are currently “no import restrictions related to items imitating Indigenous art.”