Native American artisans in Gallup, New Mexico explained to a local paper, The Independent, that vendors peddling knockoffs of their carefully constructed folk art at half the price are hurting both their business and the art itself. Earl’s, an establishment in the town that sells authentic Navajo pottery and more, has begun a serious crackdown on any vendors attempting to pass off fakes as the real thing.
“Most of the vendors here have been here for 30 to 40 years,” said storeowner Ralph Richards. “They’ve got families. They’ve got kids in school and they’re just trying to make a living.”
“That’s all we ask is tell the consumers the truth,” Richards said of the counterfeiters selling knockoff folk art.
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