{"id":38305,"date":"2024-07-10T15:40:37","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T19:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=38305"},"modified":"2024-07-10T15:41:41","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T19:41:41","slug":"family-members-sentenced-in-monumental-indian-arts-and-crafts-act-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/07\/10\/family-members-sentenced-in-monumental-indian-arts-and-crafts-act-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Family members sentenced in ‘monumental’ Indian Arts and Crafts Act case"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Ketchikan,<\/a>
A view of Main Street in Ketchikan, Alaska. Photo: Jonathan<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Family members sentenced in ‘monumental’ Indian Arts and Crafts Act case<\/div>\r\n
Wednesday, July 10, 2024<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThree members of a family with multi-state and international connections have been sentenced for violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act<\/a> (IACA) in what federal authorities are calling a “monumental” case.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nCristobal \u201cCris\u201d Magno Rodrigo, 59; his wife, Glenda Tiglao Rodrigo, 46; and the couple’s son, Christian Ryan Tiglao Rodrigo, 24, ran a business that sold fake Alaska Native goods, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release<\/a> on Tuesday. The family’s criminal scheme ran for at least five years, during which items produced overseas in the Philippines were imported to the United States and fraudulently marketed as authentic stone carvings and totem poles.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe actions the Rodrigo\u2019s family took to purposefully deceive customers and forge artwork is a cultural affront to Alaska Native artisans who pride themselves on producing these works of art, and negatively affects those who make a living practicing the craft,\u201d U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker<\/a> said in the release.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAccording to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the family sold over $1 million in fake Native items as part of their operation in Ketchikan, Alaska. Their crimes resulted in Cris Rodrigo receiving the longest-ever sentence for violating the IACA, a federal law that has been on the books in some form for nearly 90 years.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe sentences in this monumental case are a testament to the federal government\u2019s commitment to prosecuting Indian Arts and Crafts Act violations, and our office will continue to work with law enforcement partners to protect Alaska Native cultural heritage and unwitting customers, and hold perpetrators accountable who carry out these crimes,\u201d said Tucker. [PDF: Final 2 members of a Washington family sentenced in monumental Indian Arts and Crafts Act case<\/a>]\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

\r\n
Final 2 members of a Washington family sentenced in monumental Indian Arts and Crafts Act case<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nCris Rodrigo was the first of the family to be punished<\/a>. Last August, he was ordered to spend two years in federal prison, make a $60,000 donation to the Tlingit and Haida Central Council’s Vocational Program<\/a>, write a letter of apology to be published in the Ketchikan Daily News<\/a> and serve three years\u2019 supervised release. \r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe lengthy sentence was subsequently reduced to 18 months, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Despite the downward departure, the punishment remains the longest on record, according to the Indian Arts and Crafts Board<\/a> (IACB), a federal agency.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“Authentic Alaska Native art and craftwork is an important tool for passing down cultural traditions, traditional knowledge, and artistic skills from one generation to the next,” said IACB Director Meridith Stanton. “Fakes and counterfeits, such as those marketed for huge sums of money by the Rodrigos, tear at the very fabric of Alaska Native culture, Native livelihoods, and Native communities.”\r\n

<\/P>\r\nGlenda Rodrigo and Christian Ryan Rodrigo were sentenced on Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Their punishments were lighter: up to six months\u2019 home confinement and 240 hours of community service for the mother and up to three months\u2019 home confinement and 200 hours of community service for the son, according to the release.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe Rodrigos sold imported products as Alaska Native made in their Ketchikan, Alaska store,\u201d said Edward Grace, Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement<\/a>. \u201cThis deceptive business practice cheated customers and undermined the economic livelihood of Alaska Native artists.”\r\n

<\/P>\r\n \"Alaska<\/a>

A screenshot of tripadvisor.com shows Alaska Stone Art, also known as Alaska Stone Arts, to have operated in Ketchikan, Alaska.<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nKetchikan is located within the territory of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes<\/a>, the largest federally recognized tribe in Alaska. President Richard Chalyee \u00c9esh<\/em> Peterson spoke at the sentencing of Cristobal Rodrigo<\/a> last August and shared the importance of art to the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples that make up the tribal nation.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cOur art tells our history and our lineage. We did not have written history. We shared our knowledge orally and through our art,” Peterson said. “Artists and their knowledge are sacred and vital to preserving and continuing our way of life and history.”\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBy marketing and selling fake goods, Peterson said the Rodrigo family harmed the value that Native people put into their works. Two Tlingit artists, including a master carver, also spoke at the hearing<\/a> to underscore the cultural meaning and heritage that goes into their designs.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s much more than just potential loss of livelihood for our artisans or lowering market prices and standards. Protecting our rights as Indigenous people to continue to produce traditional art in the way of our ancestors is a way to share knowledge about ourselves with others,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cTo allow misappropriation of our culture and misrepresentation of our goods and products dilutes our identity as Indigenous people and prevents future generations from knowing and connecting with who they are.\u201d \r\n

<\/p>\r\nAs part of their punishments, the Rodrigros, who authorities said are based in Washington state, must pay more than $54,000 in restitution. The plea agreement<\/a> states that the money will go to customers who purchased fraudulent items at businesses on Main Street in Ketchikan that went by the names Alaska Stone Arts and Rail Creek.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

\r\n
United States of America v. Rodrigo<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe operation received glowing reviews on Trip Advisor<\/a>, a publicly accessible site often used by tourists. Some reviews mentioned “Jr” — a name that appears in the plea agreement as a supposed Native artist whose works were sold at the Ketchikan store. Also mentioned on the site are “Travis,” “James” and “Simeon” — initials possibly matching names that also appear in the document. [PDF: U.S. v. Rodrigo<\/a>]\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe Indian Arts and Crafts Act<\/a> makes it a crime to market, sell or promote an item as \u201cIndian\u201d unless it was created by a citizen of a state or federally recognized tribe or by an artisan certified by a tribe. The law was written to prevent the historical and ongoing misrepresentation of Native arts by non-Native entities.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe law has been amended in recent decades to increase enforcement and strengthen punishments for offenders. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland<\/a>, who is the first Native person to serve in a presidential cabinet, has made compliance with IACA one of her priorities since joining the administration of President Joe Biden. The IACB is housed within the Department of the Interior<\/a>, the federal agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities in Indian Country.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nCongress is also taking a greater interest in addressing fake Native art. An appropriations bill making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives<\/a> calls for $3.5 million to be used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<\/a> to “work with the Indian Arts and Crafts Board to combat international trafficking of counterfeit arts and crafts and to conduct criminal investigations of alleged violations of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act.”\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe House Committee on Appropriations<\/a> approved the spending on Tuesday as part of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2025<\/a>. The bill can now be considered by the full House for further action.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

Related Stories<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News: Native artists share their cultures at Arizona festival<\/a> (February 12, 2024)<\/div>
Indian Arts and Crafts Board welcomes new member with law enforcement background<\/a> (August 30, 2023)<\/div>
A Listening Session on \u201cThe ARTIST Act: Updating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act\u201d<\/a> (April 26, 2023)<\/div>
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hosts listening session for Indian Arts and Crafts Act<\/a> (April 24, 2023)<\/div>
Tribal leaders urge Congress to protect Native artists from \u2018fake tribes\u2019<\/a> (April 17, 2023)<\/div>
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation works to protect our artists<\/a> (April 10, 2023)<\/div>
Fake Indian art still a major problem despite federal responsibilities<\/a> (March 14, 2023)<\/div>
Fraudulent Native artist charged with violating Indian Arts and Crafts Act<\/a> (November 24, 2021)<\/div>
Museum won\u2019t verify claims of tribal ancestry after artists withdraw from show<\/a> (June 2, 2021)<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three members of a family with multi-state and international connections have been sentenced for selling over $1 million in fake Alaska Native goods.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17,10,20,13,1,14,23],"tags":[3586,78,79,214,783,5078,170,101,5079,88,118,3847,630,4852,5077,1623,1624,5076,5074,784,5075,422,314],"class_list":["post-38305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-business","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-politics","category-world","tag-118th","tag-alaska","tag-alaska-native","tag-appropriations","tag-ccthita","tag-christan-ryan-tiglao-rodrigo","tag-congress","tag-crime","tag-cristobal-magno-rodrigo","tag-deb-haaland","tag-doi","tag-edward-grace","tag-fws","tag-fy2025","tag-glenda-tiglao-rodrigo","tag-iaca","tag-iacb","tag-meridith-stanton","tag-phillipines","tag-richard-peterson","tag-s-lane-tucker","tag-us-attorneys","tag-washington","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-9XP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/10\/KetchikanAlaska-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38305"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38330,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38305\/revisions\/38330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}