I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1806 
To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to protect the cultural 
practices and livelihoods of producers of Alaska Native handicrafts and 
fossilized ivory products, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 14, 2019 
Mr. YOUNG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to 
protect the cultural practices and livelihoods of producers 
of Alaska Native handicrafts and fossilized ivory prod-
ucts, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering Rural 
Economies Through Alaska Native Sustainable Arts and 
Handicrafts Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ALASKA NATIVE HANDICRAFTS. 
Section 101(b) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
Of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371(b)) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN ALASKA NATIVES.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) AUTHENTIC
NATIVE
ARTICLE
OF 
HANDICRAFTS AND CLOTHING.—The term ‘au-
thentic native article of handicrafts and cloth-
ing’ means an item composed wholly, or in some 
significant respect, of natural materials that is 
produced, decorated, or fashioned in the exer-
cise of traditional native handicrafts without 
the use of a pantograph, multiple carvers, or 
any other mass copying device. 
‘‘(B) 
TRADITIONAL
NATIVE
HANDI-
CRAFTS.—The term ‘traditional native handi-
crafts’ includes weaving, carving, stitching, sew-
ing, lacing, beading, drawing, and painting. 
‘‘(C) FOSSILIZED IVORY.—The term ‘fos-
silized ivory’ includes a fossilized tooth or tusk 
from a species of walrus, mammoth, mastodon, 
narwhal, or whale. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—Except as provided in sec-
tion 109, the provisions of this Act shall not apply 
with respect to the taking of any marine mammal by 
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any Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo who resides in Alaska 
and who dwells on the coast of the North Pacific 
Ocean or the Arctic Ocean if such taking— 
‘‘(A)(i) is for subsistence purposes; or 
‘‘(ii) is done for purposes of creating and 
selling authentic native articles of handicrafts 
and clothing; and 
‘‘(B) in each case, is not accomplished in 
a wasteful manner. 
‘‘(3) 
LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding 
para-
graph (2), if, under this Act, the Secretary deter-
mines any species or stock of marine mammal sub-
ject to taking by Indians, Aleuts, or Eskimos to be 
depleted, the Secretary may prescribe regulations 
upon the taking of such marine mammals by any In-
dian, Aleut, or Eskimo described in this subsection. 
Such regulations may be established with reference 
to species or stocks, geographical description of the 
area included, the season for taking, or any other 
factors related to the reason for establishing such 
regulations and consistent with the purposes of this 
Act. Such regulations shall be prescribed after notice 
and hearing required by section 103 of this title and 
shall be removed as soon as the Secretary deter-
mines that the need for their imposition has dis-
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appeared. In promulgating any regulation or making 
any assessment pursuant to a hearing or proceeding 
under this subsection or section 117(b)(2), or in 
making any determination of depletion under this 
subsection or finding regarding unmitigable adverse 
impacts under subsection (a)(5) that affects stocks 
or persons to which this subsection applies, the Sec-
retary shall be responsible for demonstrating that 
such regulation, assessment, determination, or find-
ing is supported by substantial evidence on the basis 
of the record as a whole. The preceding sentence 
shall only be applicable in an action brought by one 
or more Alaska Native organizations representing 
persons to which this subsection applies. 
‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULES.— 
‘‘(A) INTERSTATE COMMERCE.—Only au-
thentic native articles of handicrafts and cloth-
ing may be sold in interstate commerce. 
‘‘(B) EDIBLE PORTIONS OF MARINE MAM-
MALS.—Any edible portion of a marine mammal 
may be sold in a native village or town in Alas-
ka or for native consumption. 
‘‘(5) PROHIBITIONS.— 
‘‘(A) MAMMOTH, MASTODON, AND WALRUS 
IVORY, MARINE MAMMAL BONES, TEETH, AND 
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BALEEN.—No State shall prohibit the importa-
tion, sale, offer for sale, transfer, trade, barter, 
possession, or possession with the intent to sell, 
transfer, trade, or barter of mammoth, mas-
todon, or walrus ivory, marine mammal bones, 
teeth, or baleen produced under this title by an 
Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo, as an authentic na-
tive article of handicrafts and clothing. 
‘‘(B) FOSSILIZED IVORY.—No State shall 
prohibit the importation, sale, offer for sale, 
transfer, trade, possession, or possession with 
the intent to sell, transfer, trade, or barter, of 
fossilized ivory.’’. 
Æ 
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