Gallup’s ‘dirty little secret’

By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — The trial of a former Indian arts and crafts dealer on charges of fraud has focused light on what some say is “Gallup’s dirty little secret.”

This secret is the claims that have become more and more public over the past several years that the town known as the nation’s Indian Capitol is now becoming the nation’s capitol for fake Indian crafts.

Amrio Al-Assi, who operated Silver Bear Trading Co. in downtown Gallup from 2002 to 2005, was found guilty of fraud in connection with the sale of a bracelet that the buyer said she was told was made by famed Navajo silversmith Jesse Monongye. (See main story)

The bracelet was actually made by Richard Tolina, who testified during the trial that he was working in 2004 for Qodri Al-Masri, the owner of USA Indian Jewelry.

This is not a case where the piece in question was made overseas — in the Philippines or Taiwan — and then brought to the United States where it was sold as authentic and made by a Native American.

Instead, the trial centered around “knock-offs,” an item made by a Native American silversmith but copied from the design of another well-known silversmith.

Tolina, in his testimony, said he was called into Al-Masri’s office one day and shown photos of the works of Monongye and told to make some pieces like that. So he designed a piece something like the one he saw and made a mold so he could mass produce the bracelets.

Al-Masri, who was also called to testify, denied he ever had this conversation with Tolina but he did sell one of the Tolina bracelets to Al-Assi for $200, which was later sold, along with two other items, for $600 to Barbara Sheroke.

An actual Monongye bracelet would cost tens of thousands of dollars. Monongye said that he is seeing more and more knock-offs of his work but testified that the bracelet that was the center of this trial looked nothing like his work — the coloring was different, as was the design.

But in the world of knock-offs, it’s not how close you come to an item, say reputable Indian dealers, but if you get it close enough to fool the novice, which is what the prosecutors in this case said is what happened.

“This is an important case,” said Karl Gillson, McKinley County’s District Attorney to the jury in his closing argument.

It’s important because it goes to the heart of Gallup’s economy. “We depend on the Native American arts industry in this town,” he said, adding that anything that hurts the industry’s credibility hurts Gallup.

The bracelet in question is not “genuine Gallup,” he said.

Sheroke was asked would she buy a piece of Indian jewelry in Gallup again and she said an emphatic “no,” and Gillson said Sheroke’s friends, on hearing what happened to her here, will also feel it is not safe to buy Native American crafts here.

But the good news is, he said, that the jurors in this case “have sent a message as community members and jurors that they will protect (Gallup’s) integrity.”