The Interior Department's Indian Arts and Crafts Board is set to close three Indian museums by 2007 if alternate funding isn't found.

DOI says the money used to operate the museums could be used to fight fake Indian arts and crafts. Tribal and federal officials are talking about transferring the collections to tribes.

"This should be an opportunity that we should want to take hold of not just be afraid of," Fred Nahwooksy, the museum development manager for the Comanche Nation, told The Oklahoman.

The museums are the Southern Plains Indian Museum in Anadarko, Oklahoma; the Sioux Indian Museum in Rapid City, South Dakota; and the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning, Montana.

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Indian museums facing loss of federal funding (The Oklahoman 1/6)
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Relevant Links:
Indian Arts and Crafts Board - http://www.doi.gov/iacb

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