And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: Piercing Eyes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> forwarded for informational purposes only..contents have not been verified From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1999 05:42:12 EDT Subject: Tribes Seeks Protection for Symbols Tribes Seeks Protection for Symbols .c The Associated Press By REBECCA LOPEZ ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - To the Zia Indians of New Mexico, the sun is a sacred symbol. Their stylized version is painted on ceremonial vases, drawn on the ground around campfires and used to introduce newborns to the sun. But the symbol - a red circle with groups of rays pointing in four directions - also adorns the state flag, the governor's stationery and the yellow pages, peddling items from pest control to portable toilets. The Zias and other tribes are looking to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to stop commercial exploitation of their sacred symbols. An 8-year-old Zia girl, her father and grandfather at her side, was among 150 tribe members and others who testified Thursday to a panel of patent office officials about the misuse of such symbols. ``I'm one of the 146 tribal members under 12 years old,'' said Sabrina Pino, who just finished the third grade. ``We represent the future of the pueblo and we hope you will protect it from being trademarked from anyone in the private sector.'' Prompted by a law passed last year, the patent office is asking Indians to suggest how to establish a list of official insignia that would be protected from trademark, as are flags, coats of arms and other official symbols. It would offer tribes no protection from outside use. Similar meetings are scheduled next week in Arlington, Va., and San Francisco, where five California tribes will seek protection of symbols of their heritage, such as pictographs, basket designs, dance regalia and tribal songs. ``We all have a common thread about preserving our cultural heritage,'' said Reba Fuller of Tuolumne Band of the Me-Wuk tribe in California. ``I've talked to various groups all over the country to let them know about this law and that we need Native American input as it will have a direct impact on the Native American community.'' Unlike Zia Pueblo, which is seeking $74 million in compensation from the state, Fuller's tribes are not seeking monetary compensation. The Zias are asking for $1 million for every year the symbol was used as the flag's emblem. The tribe doesn't expect it will actually receive that amount, but it would like the state to acknowledge the emblem belongs to the Pueblo, said Peter Pino, the tribe's administrator. Tribes are not asking that businesses rid their products of Indian references, such as product names: Jeep Cherokee or Winnebago. What they want is for the government to prohibit businesses from trademarking symbols, just as they do with insignias of municipalities, states and foreign nations. ``Tribes should be able to protect their symbols in the same way as states, cities and counties do,'' University of New Mexico law professor Kenneth Bobroff said. ``And especially so. Because unlike non-Indian symbols, these are religious.'' AP-NY-07-09-99 0541EDT Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
