A Washington artist who posed as a member of the Nez Perce tribe was sentenced to 18 months of federal probation under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (AIAC), which demands truth in the advertising of Indigenous art. Jerry Chris Van Dyke, also known as Jerry Witten, sold what he claimed were native artwork for more than 10 years at Raven’s Nest Treasure shop in downtown Seattle’s Pike Place tourist market . The 67-year-old artist is not a registered tribal member and has no Indigenous heritage.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington issued the sentence on Wednesday, May 17. Van Dyke had sold pendants carved in the style of Aleut masks for more than $1,000 (Aleuts is an umbrella term for people from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.) The decision was long in coming: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opened an investigation into Van Dyke in February 2019 after the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, a federal agency, received a complaint alleging that the artist was not actually Native.
A few months later, in May 2019, the Fish and Wildlife Service opened an investigation into another Raven’s Nest Treasure artist, Lewis Anthony Rath, following another complaint to the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. Rath had falsely claimed that he was a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe.
During their investigation, Fish and Wildlife officers purchased more than $2,300 worth of Van Dyke and Rath artwork. In December 2021, the two artists were accused to misrepresent themselves as natives (Rath was also charged with possession of illegal feathers). The two men to plead guilty in March 2023.
Rath’s sentencing is scheduled for September 27, 2023.
“All we have left is our identity, and it is under attack,” said Shannon F. Wheeler, president of the Nez Perce tribe. said during Wednesday’s sentencing, adding that the fake sales “continue a process of devaluing us as a people.”
“The artwork is full of our culture,” Wheeler said. “It’s a part of who we are.”
AIAC was enacted in 1990. Van Dyke’s sentence is relatively light: first-time offenders of the IACA can face up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or a combination of the two. Corporate violators can be fined up to $1 million.
