Opinion: Fake Alaska Native art comes from factories in Bali

I have been reporting the sale of inauthentic Alaska Native art in Alaska by Caucasian men who have factories in Bali.

Superb Balinese artists copy the culturally significant and sacred carvings, painting and sculptures of Alaska Native artists and often use exported mammoth ivory, which is permissible because it is an extinct species.

This hurts Alaska Native artists and communities who struggle to make ends meet and are trying desperately to transmit their intergenerational knowledge through their works of art. Their stories and teachings are depicted in their art. The copying is a great disservice to Balinese artists who have their own magnificent material culture.