Intellectual property rights and tribes – the Zia Pueblo tribal symbol and the NM state flag

Zia Pueblo seeks compensation from the state of New Mexico for the use of the tribe’s sacred symbol. The zia sun symbol first appeared on the state flag in the 1920s. The design came from a piece of pottery used in religious ceremonies that was smuggled out of the pueblo, an assistant tribal administrator said. In 1994, the tribe sought $45 million from the state but was unsuccessful. Other efforts sought $1 million for each year the state has used the symbol. Gov. Bill Richardson (D) supports compensating the tribe and created a task force to study the issue. But the task force hasn’t met in more than a year, said Ken Lucero, the tribal administrator.  Meanwhile, the tribe wants people to ask its permission to use the symbol. “Generally we are open and accepting about use of the symbol,” Lucero said at a lecture at the University of New Mexico, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported. “We are proud of it.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 9:58 am and is filed under Indian Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.