WASHINGTON — Advocates of Alaska Native ivory carvers hope this is the year Congress finally passes the ARTIST Act, so that no state can ban carvings and jewelry made from legally harvested walrus ivory and baleen.
Megan Onders of Nome testified in favor of the bill at a U.S. House hearing last week. She told committee members that carvers in Bering Strait villages earn money from their sales that supports their subsistence way of life.
“If you're a hunter, you're also a carver, and it's something that you were taught by your uncles, your grandparents and your relatives,” said Onders, chief of the King Island community and a board member of Kawerak, the regional non-profit.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act already allows and regulates Alaska Native walrus hunting for subsistence, as well as sales of ivory handicrafts made from subsistence-caught animals. The ARTIST Act would prohibit states from banning authentic Alaska Native art.
Several states, intending to protect African elephants, outlawed all ivory sales. In 2015, California specifically included walrus ivory in its ban.
Onders said tourists who visit Nome are apprehensive about buying crafts that use the material.
“They come to the artists and they say, ‘I'm not allowed to buy this. This is a banned product.’ Which we know is not the case,” Onders said. “However, this scenario has created misinformed consumers.”
She’s hoping The ARTIST Act will remove that cloud.
Rep. Jared Huffman of California is the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. He said he supports the idea of clarifying federal law to help Alaska Native artists.
“We just have to be careful how we do it,” he said. “I am concerned that the language as written could make it difficult for other states to enforce their bans on things like elephant ivory. I don't think anybody wants that outcome, but we need to work together to make sure that we get it right as this legislation moves forward.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan has been working to pass the bill for nearly a decade, and his version of the bill cleared the Senate last year. Rep. Nick Begich is sponsoring the House version.
