LITTLECROW TRADING POST POLICY

Our policy for selecting merchandise for Littlecrow Trading Post is that it be culturally-accurate, and a good value for the customer. Cultural accuracy can be determined by ignoring the obvious issue of price, and asking "Would an Indian wear it, buy it for a gift, or have it in their home?" This includes products which are not Indian-made, as defined by existing legislation, including most commercially-produced goods.

DO NOT assume than any product listed on this website is "Indian Made" in accordance with the Indian Arts & Crafts legislation, unless specifically stated.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING INDIAN ART LEGISLATION

IS IT "INDIAN MADE" ?

People buying Native American style artwork and crafts sometimes ask "Is it Indian Made?"

The United States Congress passed legislation in the 1990's which basically requires that any artist promoting their handwork as an "Indian Made Product" must be a registered member of a federally or state-recognized Indian Tribe.

WHY IS THERE SUCH A LAW?

Proponents of the law said that it was designed to suppress unfair competition from foreign manufacturers and artists who were producing knock-offs of Indian art, beadwork, jewlery, & pottery, and fraudulently promoting them as Indian made. It's a fact that foreign & domestic frauds have been taking food off the tables of Native American artisans for years.

Detractors of the law say it was also designed to cut serious competion to registered Indian artists from Indians who are not registered members of a tribe. There is reason to believe that this may have also been a serious consideration.

There is currently a movement to delete the portion of the law allowing members of state-recognized tribes to claim Indian status, since several states have given recognition to "tribes" who have a quite dubious historical basis.

WHY WOULDN'T AN INDIAN BE A REGISTERED MEMBER OF A FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBE?

There are as many reasons as there are non-registered Indians. There are two very common reasons here in Oklahoma. One reason is that many Indians living today don't meet the blood quantum requirements to be a member of their tribe. Even some full-bloods are descended from too many tribes to have enough "blood quantum percentage" of any one tribe to meet their enrollment requirements. All recognized tribes have a blood quantum restriction, family registration restriction, or both.

The other common reason here in Oklahoma occurs primarily among the Five "Civilized" Tribes; the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole. These tribes were relocated from their original homelands in the southeastern United States to Indian Territory in the early 1800's. By treaty, these new lands in Indian Territory were supposed to be the permanent homes of these tribes. However, the government then forced the dissolution of these Tribal Governments and Nations, and the State of Oklahoma was created in 1907.

Because so many Indians suffered and died during the forced relocations 60 years earlier, some refused to sign government rolls, fearing another death march or Wounded Knee-style massacre. Some people resented & resisted any government control over their lives. Others were rejected from tribal registration because they lived outside the boundaries of their Nation at one time. But the majority of unregistered Indians today descend from Indians who simply went their own way, often marrying non-Indians and settling outside of their Nation. ONLY descendants of those Indians who remained permanent residents of their Nations in Indian Territory until 1907 AND who signed the final rolls are eligible for tribal membership today.

For example, if your grandparents left Italy and moved to America in 1907, you still have Italian blood running through your veins, and are still related to your family left behind in Italy. Being American-born, you are still Italian, but you aren't an Italian citizen. Tribal citizenship is much the same concept.

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO THE CUSTOMER?

It depends on your point of view. Some people are serious collectors of Indian Art, and want to buy artwork made by a member of a specific tribe. Our customers are simply interested in culturally-accurate products which are a good value. Since this is what we look for in merchandise ourselves, this is what we sell.

All regalia items sold here are GUARANTEED to be AUTHENTIC in styling and construction, as worn by Indians or seen at Indian powwows here in Oklahoma on any given weekend. We won't sell anything that we wouldn't want our friends or family to be seen wearing in the arena right here at the tribal powwow grounds.

We use both Indian and non-Indian contract labor, and buy many commercially-produced materials. Some items may be imported. Nearly all fabric is manufactured in China today. We are not Indian Art dealers, per se. Goods advertised on this site may be made members of federally recognized tribes, or by family members of federally-enrolled Indians, or by persons who are established & widely accepted as members of the local "Indian Community", including non-Indian vendors who are regularly patronized by Indians or allowed to set up vendor booths at Indian pow-wows. Our goal is to provide quality goods at reasonable prices to our customer base, regardless of origin.