INDIGENOUS WOMEN'S ART DESIGNS

     Canadian Inuit Carvings

     The Inuit have inhabited the Canadian Arctic for approximately four thousand years. Archaeologists believe that the ancient Inuit carvings discovered thus far date from between 600 B.C. and 1000 A.D. Most of today's Inuit carvers live in towns with populations of about 1000 people. They carve ivory, locally found stones, and whale bones that have been fossilized and patinated over time. The carvers rough-hew their blocks of stone with sledgehammers, hatchets, chisels, and small electric tools. They then shape their pieces with scrapers, grinders and sandpaper.

     In 1948, a young Toronto artist named James Houston visited Inukjuak and returned south with some small Inuit carvings. In the course of the same year the federal government sent him to the north of Quebec so that he could acquire new carvings and encourage the Inuit to increase their production. ⁽¹⁾ The response was so strong that Inuit cooperatives were established in most Arctic communities throughout the 1950s and 1960s, while marketing agencies for Inuit art were developed in the south.

     Economic gain continued to motivate the Canadian government, which undertook a vast marketing campaign to promote Inuit art. As a result, the popularity of Inuit carvings grew, as did the enthusiasm of the various players involved in its creation and marketing. Cooperatives, galleries, and associations of artists and distributors began to develop. With an organized market and a specific art form, geographical area, and indigenous group, Inuit carvings became an economic and artistic success. As symbols of Canadian art, they are now the gifts of choice for foreign dignitaries, ⁽²⁾ and are recognized and appreciated throughout the world.⁽³⁾

     Inuit carvings are considered as works of art, not crafts, and Canada's Copyright Act⁽⁴⁾ defines them as such. However, other indigenous art forms such as tapestries, designs, wickerwork and clothing are regarded as crafts and are therefore less valuable.

     Although Canadian copyright law protects artistic works created by craftspersons, it does not provide a definition of craftspersons. Moreover, it would be rash of us to attempt to determine who is an artist and who is a craftsperson. In the opinion of several authors, craftspersons are technicians or workers whose trade comprises manual labour.⁽⁵⁾ When these workers create an artistic work, they can obtain a copyright to protect it. We believe that the various players involved in this kind of creation could add value and prestige to indigenous art products if they targeted high-scale art markets and adjusted their marketing practices accordingly.

     At present, Inuit carvings are highly valued in Canada as both artworks and souvenirs. Their success, however, has led to mass production and the proliferation of imitations made of plastic, ceramic, or soapstone. Much cheaper than the originals, the imitations attract uninformed consumers,⁽⁶⁾ clearly harming the prestige and sales of genuine Inuit carvings and causing economic shortfalls for Inuit artists in isolated Arctic villages.

     The Igloo Trademark

     Canada's trademark system reflects its adherence to international conventions on the protection of industrial property and literary and artistic works.⁽⁷⁾ The copyright system is based on the Copyright Act, as well as on rules and regulations. Industrial property is governed by the Industrial Design Act⁽⁸⁾, the Trademarks Act⁽⁹⁾, the Patents Act⁽¹⁰⁾, and several other pieces of relevant legislation, including the Status of the Artist Act and the Plant Breeders' Rights Act.

     On September 5, 1958, the Canadian government registered the symbol of the igloo as a trademark to protect Inuit or Eskimo⁽¹¹⁾ carvers as well as consumers. Faced with a flood of U.S. crafts on the Canadian market, the government had decided to boost sales of Inuit carvings by certifying their authenticity and thereby distinguishing them from U.S. merchandise and increasing their prestige. This also made it easier to collect customs tariffs on arts and crafts coming in from the U.S.

     The registered trademark provided carvings bearing an igloo-symbol tag with recognition as authentic, hand-made Canadian Inuit artworks. The trademark is registered with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) and belongs to the Federal Crown. Having registered the Igloo symbol, DIAND has made a commitment to promote this trademark both nationally and internationally.

     Due to its extensive recognition, the Igloo tag itself has been imitated, and trademark authorities must be careful to ensure that this incident remains an isolated case. One essential control measure implemented in Canada is the restriction of tag printing to one company.

     DIAND's Inuit Art Section is responsible for managing the trademark. It has granted licences to distributors, cooperatives, and agencies, which actually place the Igloo tags on Inuit products. At the present time, approximately ten such organizations have licences, although a few others have applied for them.⁽¹²⁾

     The Canadian government has some obligations to the licensees. For example, it must provide them with updated lists of all other licensees and include their names on the list of companies that have an official status allowing them to export Inuit art to the U.S. and to have their carvings sold in duty-free shops in the U.S.

     In return, the licensees must respect certain conditions. For instance, they must allow the trademark to be used in a government-established framework for the purpose of advertising or information. The licensees must also place the Igloo tag on all original carvings that have been hand-made by Canadian Inuit. In other words, they cannot decide whether or not to use the Igloo symbol on a specific piece of work. DIAND decides how and under what conditions the tag is to be used, and it specifies what information is to appear on the labelling. That information is the following:

1. The artist's first and last names;
2. The place of origin (the location where the artist carved the work);
3. The date (year the carving was made);
4. A description and number (title or number that the artist or first purchaser has given the carving).

     The price and the name of the first purchaser are only indicated after the carving has been bought. Inuit carvers sometimes use Roman or syllabic characters on their artworks. Some carvings have a number, preceded by an E or a W, engraved on the bottom, and this represents a different kind of signature.⁽¹³⁾ It would seemingly be to the advantage of indigenous artists anywhere in the world - and particularly in countries where indigenous people have no trademarks - to sign their artworks. Their signatures could increase the economic value of their work, especially in the case of those who are well known.

     Individual artists may request tags directly from the Inuit Art Centre of DIAND. The Centre's staff, however, claim that very few individual artists make such requests. Most sell their work to co-ops, distributors, and galleries that have a licence to use the tags.

     The major significance of this kind of trademark certification stems from its registration with the Canadian government and consequently from the prestige provided by the government's guarantee that the work is authentic. This certification also makes potential counterfeiters think twice before attempting to copy Inuit pieces.

     The trademark registration of all hand-made Canadian Inuit carvings does not mean that the government considers them to be the product of an Inuit nation, but it does provide certain advantages to the Inuit. For example, although non-Inuit Canadians can use the same traditionally Inuit subjects to create their own works, they cannot place the Igloo symbol on them. When consumers know which artworks have not been made by Inuit artists, they are not willing to pay as high a price for the non-Inuit products.

     Limitations

     Despite its advantages, trademark certification does not prohibit imitations, nor does it enable the government to sanction counterfeiters, unless, of course, the latter copy the tag itself. To take action against a counterfeiter, an individual artist would have to make use of copyright legislation.

     A trademark does no more than provide the consumer with a guarantee that the artwork in question is authentic. As a result, similar products that are not identified by a trademark will be sold at a lower price. Moreover, artists who continue to imitate Inuit carvings have to deal on a restricted market because art museums, galleries, foreign buyers, and even well-informed tourists prefer to purchase works that have been hand-made by a Canadian Inuk and that display the Igloo symbol.

     Conclusions

     It seems to us that the success of the Igloo trademark is, to a great extent, the result of the excellent organizational work conducted by the players involved in the Inuit art market. Although Canada's Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development owns the trademark, the coops, large distributors, and other on-the-ground actors are the ones who ensure that Inuit carvings are labelled with the Igloo symbol.

     The market is not difficult to monitor: one specific kind of artwork is produced in a clearly defined area, and people know who makes what and who sells what to whom. Therefore, Igloo tags are only rarely placed on non-Inuit carvings, and counterfeit pieces or tags are quickly detected.

     While the Igloo trademark cannot absolutely prevent imitators from copying Inuit carvings, it does seem to be an effective means to keep imitations from spreading out of control. This is an example of how it is possible for indigenous peoples to certify the authenticity of their products. Completing the legal formalities is relatively simple and inexpensive if only one or a few trademarks are to be registered.

     This kind of measure, however, cannot be taken without prior consultation among the different players who are active in the marketing of indigenous art. Furthermore, both production and marketing must be well organized. The management of the Igloo trademark has entailed a high level of participation on the part of all concerned, including the government, coops, and distributors.

     In our opinion, the use of a trademark must also be combined with a public awareness campaign if the trademark is to have a positive impact on the indigenous art market. Such a campaign must, in turn, be motivated by the political work of indigenous peoples.

     In the case of Canada, the government's contribution to the success of the trademark and to the popularity of Inuit art is the result of its marketing efforts. The government has organized promotional campaigns, distributed information, and certified the authenticity of Inuit carvings. These efforts have clearly bolstered both the sales and prestige of Inuit art.

     NOTES

 1)     "Inuit Art: A Dynamic Art Form," Inuit Art Quarterly, 5, 4 (Fall-Winter 1990-1991): 12. Return

 2)     Ibid. Return

 3)     Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Sculptures de l'Arctique canadien, 1993. Return

 4)     Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42. Return

 5)     Normand Tamaro, Le Droit d'auteur : fondements et principes (Montréal: Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal, 1994): 57.. Return

 6)     Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, idem. Return

 7)     Specifically, the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1983) and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886). Return

 8)     Industrial Design Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. I-8. Return

 9)     Trademarks Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. T-13. Return

 10)     Patent Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-4. Return

 11)     The term Eskimo was previously used to mean Inuit. Return

 12)     These organizations include the Canadian Handicrafts Guild, Fédération des Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, Hudson's Bay Company, Canadian Arctic Producers Ltd., West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative, Government of the Northwest Territories, and Canadian Arctic Co-operative Federation Ltd. Return

 13)     The Inuit Art Centre of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Canadian Inuit Sculpture (1998). Return

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