Page 57 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 305e

1So in original. Probably should be ‘‘terms’’.

available to it at any time the Board may authorize such expenditures, consistent with the

provisions of said sections, as it may determine

to be necessary for the accomplishment of the

purposes and objectives of said sections.

(Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 748, §4, 49 Stat. 892.)

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

For transfer of functions of other officers, employees,

and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with

power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§1, 2,

eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in

the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and

Employees.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in sections 305a–1, 305b of

this title.

§ 305c–1. Repealed. Pub. L. 87–23, § 2, Apr. 24,

1961, 75 Stat. 45

Section, act May 10, 1939, ch. 119, §1, 53 Stat. 699, provided for a limitation of $10 per diem in lieu of subsistence on amount that may be paid to members of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. See section 305 of this title.

§ 305d. Referral for criminal and civil violations;

complaints; recommendations

(a) The Board may receive complaints of violations of section 1159 of title 18 and refer complaints of such violations to the Federal Bureau

of Investigation for appropriate investigation.

After reviewing the investigation report, the

Board may recommend to the Attorney General

of the United States that criminal proceedings

be instituted under that section.

(b) The Board may recommend that the Secretary of the Interior refer the matter to the Attorney General for civil action under section

305e of this title.

(Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 748, §5, as added Pub. L.

101–644, title I, §103, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4662.)

PRIOR PROVISIONS

A prior section, act Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 748, §5, 49 Stat.

892, related to counterfeiting of a trade mark and penalty, prior to repeal by act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, §21, 62

Stat. 862, effective Sept. 1, 1948. See section 1158 of Title

18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

§ 305e. Cause of action for misrepresentation of

Indian produced goods

(a) Injunctive or equitable relief; damages

A person specified in subsection (c) of this section may, in a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction, bring an action against a

person who offers or displays for sale or sells a

good, with or without a Government trademark,

in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian

produced, an Indian product, or the product of a

particular Indian or Indian tribe or Indian arts

and crafts organization, resident within the

United States, to—

(1) obtain injunctive or other equitable relief; and

(2) recover the greater of—

(A) treble damages; or

(B) in the case of each aggrieved individual

Indian, Indian tribe, or Indian arts and

crafts organization, not less than $1,000 for

each day on which the offer or display for

sale or sale continues.

(b) Punitive damages; attorney’s fee

In addition to the relief specified in subsection

(a) of this section, the court may award punitive

damages and the costs of suit and a reasonable

attorney’s fee.

(c) Persons who may initiate civil actions

(1) A civil action under subsection (a) of this

section may be commenced—

(A) by the Attorney General of the United

States upon request of the Secretary of the Interior on behalf of an Indian who is a member

of an Indian tribe or on behalf of an Indian

tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization; or

(B) by an Indian tribe on behalf of itself, an

Indian who is a member of the tribe, or on behalf of an Indian arts and crafts organization.

(2) Any amount recovered pursuant to this section shall be paid to the individual Indian, Indian tribe, or Indian arts and crafts organization, except that—

(A) in the case of paragraph (1)(A), the Attorney General may deduct from the amount

recovered the amount for the costs of suit and

reasonable attorney’s fees awarded pursuant

to subsection (b) of this section and deposit

the amount of such costs and fees as a reimbursement credited to appropriations currently available to the Attorney General at

the time of receipt of the amount recovered;

and

(B) in the case of paragraph (1)(B), the

amount recovered for the costs of suit and reasonable attorney’s fees pursuant to subsection

(b) of this section may be deducted from the

total amount awarded under subsection (a)(2)

of this section.

(d) Definitions

As used in this section—

(1) the term ‘‘Indian’’ means any individual

who is a member of an Indian tribe; or for the

purposes of this section is certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian tribe;

(2) the terms ‘‘Indian product’’ and ‘‘product

of a particular Indian tribe or Indian arts and

crafts organization’’ has the meaning given

such term1 in regulations which may be promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior;

(3) the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means—

(A) any Indian tribe, band, nation, Alaska

Native village, or other organized group or

community which is recognized as eligible

for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians; or

(B) any Indian group that has been formally recognized as an Indian tribe by a

State legislature or by a State commission

or similar organization legislatively vested

with State tribal recognition authority; and

(4) the term ‘‘Indian arts and crafts organization’’ means any legally established arts and

crafts marketing organization composed of

members of Indian tribes.

(e) Severability

In the event that any provision of this section

is held invalid, it is the intent of Congress that