Oklahoma officials agree to stay enforcement of unconstitutional American Indian art law

There’s some great news out of Oklahoma to announce. Oklahoma officials have agreed to (and the Court has signed off on) a stipulation to stay enforcement of Oklahoma’s American Indian Arts and Crafts Sales Act while PLF’s challenge to the law is pending. If you’ll recall, in November PLF challenged that law on behalf of award-winning American Indian artist Peggy Fontenot in federal court in Oklahoma. What this stipulation means is that while the case moves forward, Ms. Fontenot and every other American Indian artist in compliance with the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act may market and describe their art as American Indian-made just as they were before the unconstitutional Oklahoma law was enacted last year.

The Attorney General’s office deserves credit and thanks for being willing to stipulate to the stay, so thank you. The case will continue, however, to seek a permanent vindication of the constitutional rights of American Indian artists who work in Oklahoma. In the meantime, though, we’ll celebrate this small win for artists, art lovers, and the Constitution.