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[Page 3: Why is the Customer Right? by
Miranda Belarde-Lewis]
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Community Give-Back
 Speculation suggests that collectors such as the Dikers and Mr. Coe are interested in furthering the value, prestige and press surrounding their collections of Native art and artifacts. Having their names in the exhibition titles was not a mistake. However, Mr. Coe has ensured that his collection of art, artifacts and ethnographic research is shared with the world and available to the public and for the communities from which they came, permanently. The exhibit provided a window into Native material culture and art, but the largest advantage Mr. Coe provided is entrusting his collection to the Met where it is publicly available. He can serve as a model of how a collector of Native art can provide for some reciprocity in the Native art/patron relationship. It is helpful to remember that large museums are not the only museums that accept donations. If a goal of ''First American Art'' was to illustrate the intimacy between the maker and the intended user of the art, it seems a natural solution would be for private collectors to donate their collection to tribal museums.
The Native communities would experience reconciliation with their material culture and works created by their ancestors. The Natives would also be able to preserve the integrity of their art, being able to chooseto reintroduce visual elements into new pieces and thus sustain the continuum Native iconography is famous for. Cultural pride is a natural outcome of seeing the extraordinary works of one's own people, and it would abound in the communities experiencing this reconciliation.
The collectors would receive massive press coverage and become wildly famous in Indian Country and in the museum world. Such an unprecedented step would cement the collector and any section of their donated collection as a major feature for tribes in every corner of the United States and Canada. This would be the case even if they did not donate their entire collection. Because many tribal museums are non-profit organizations, a donation of any kind is shielded from federal taxes. The alleviation of the cost of insurance alone would financially benefit collectors interested in protecting their wealth.
The donation of such a large collection would ultimately free up pressures for museum and galleries to exhibit the works, making the spaces available for future exhibitions. These exhibits could feature contemporary artisans and their new works. Whether these new works are based on the images, styles and techniques of our ancestors is up to the artist. But the fact remains that the space would now be available for the emerging artist. This would be entirely possible at a museum such as the NMAI, which would be fulfilling its mission to ''…protect and foster [their] cultures by reaffirming traditions and beliefs, encouraging contemporary artistic expression, and empowering the Indian voice.''
Despite creating culturally meaningful and diverse works of art in every medium, the Native artist does not have control over the trends of the art market. This does not have to mean despair should run rampant in the minds and aspirations of Native artists. It does provide Native artists with an opportunity to present a stronger voice about what contemporary artistic Native art is, and to show how it is currently being expressed. Conversely, just because the Native artist does not control the market does not mean that collectors and patrons of Native art should abuse their persuasive powers within the Native art market. After all, it is a reciprocal relationship; each side exists because the other is willing.
Miranda Belarde-Lewis (Zuni/Tlingit) received a degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Arizona in 2002. Her focus was Native issues and their relationships with museums. Upcoming publications include a children’s reader “Meet Lydia: A Native Girl from Southeast Alaska,” selected poems to be included in “Bringing Ourselves Together: Modern Pueblo Literature” and, poems and two-dimensional art which will be part of the future theme issues of Red Ink Magazine: Environmental Issues and Native Humor.
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