Sioux Indian Museum / Indian Arts & Crafts Board

The Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB), U.S. Department of the Interior, was created by Congress in 1935 to promote the economic development of federally recognized* American Indians and Alaska Natives (Indians) through the expansion of the Indian arts and crafts market.  A top priority of the IACB is the implementation and enforcement of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (Act) of 1990, as amended, a truth-in-advertising law that provides criminal and civil penalties for marketing products as "Indian-made" when such products are not made by Indians, as defined by the Act.

The IACB's other activities include providing information on the Act and Intellectual Property Rights Protections, professional business and related marketing advice, and promotional opportunities to Indian artists, artisans, and cultural organizations of federally recognized tribes.  The IACB operates three regional museums,  the Sioux Indian Museum, the Museum of the Plains Indian, and the Southern Plains Indian Museum.  The IACB also produces a consumer directory of approximately 400 Indian owned and operated arts and crafts businesses.

These activities are not duplicated in either the federal or private sector.  The IACB is the only federal agency that is consistently and exclusively concerned with the economic benefits and cultural development of federally recognized Indians.  The IACB's policies are determined by Commissioners who are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior and serve without compensation.  The IACB's activities and programs are carried out by a professional, experienced staff.

* The IACB provides services, including Source Directory listings, to enrolled members of entities on the list published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs under the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. § 5130.  Consistent with other statutes defining this Department's responsibilities and obligations to Indian tribes, the Department interprets the first definition of Indian tribe in the Indian Arts and Crafts Act as those tribes listed on the tribal entities list published in the Federal Register.