"In 1990, while I was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I worked with now retired Colorado Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell to pass the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which prohibits misrepresentation in the marketing of Indian arts and crafts within the United States.

The Indian Arts and Crafts Act is a truth-in-advertising law that provides criminal and civil penalties for marketing products as “Indian-made” when such products are not, in fact, made by Native Americans. The law is intended to protect unsuspecting buyers from fraudulent works, as well as Indian artisans, craftspeople, and tribes.

In order to make the law more effective, Senator John McCain and I introduced legislation to strengthen its investigative and enforcement authorities. I am pleased to report that the U.S. Senate approved that bill on July 24, and it now awaits action in the U.S. House of Representatives. By working with the House cosponsor, Representative Ed Pastor, it is my hope the bill will be signed into law during this session of Congress.

The U.S. Senate has also advanced a bill I introduced that would resolve major water claims in the state and provide a reliable source of drinking water to the White Mountain Apache Tribe.

The White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act would authorize and confirm the tribe’s water settlement and authorize funding for a key drinking water project, the Miner Flat Project, on the tribe’s reservation in northeastern Arizona.

Currently, a relatively small well field serves most of the tribe’s residents, but production from the wells has declined significantly over the last few years. As a result, the tribe has experienced summer drinking water shortages."

Get the Story:
Sen. Jon Kyl: Protecting Native American Heritage and Resources (The National Ledger 8/18)