Aboriginal Art Petition Re.: Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Games

"...We the undersigned call on the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the
2010 Olympic Games (VANOC) to stop using the term "Authentic Aboriginal
Products" to mean their licensed products, with Aboriginal graphics placed
on them, that are produced by non-Aboriginal companies, and originate from
outside of Canada.

Furthermore, we the undersigned call on VANOC to honour its commitments to
local Aboriginal businesses and immediately end the exclusion from its
licensing scheme, Aboriginal products that are truly Authentic, made by
people from First Nations communities in Canada...."

http://www.gopetition.com/online/32954.html or http://ow.ly/OERa

See originating story here
Native businessman upset at VANOC outsourcing: Local merchant claims
'authentic native art' is being made in China http://ow.ly/NZXq

[Excerpt]
"... Sunday, December 20th, 2009 | 4:30 am

Canwest News Service

The First Nations owner of a North Shore company says Vancouver 2010 has
"stolen" the authentic aboriginal product brand and put it on items made
in China.

"Our branding has been usurped or appropriated or stolen by this monster
organization — and now their suppliers stand to profit to the tune of
millions of dollars," said Shain Jackson, owner of Spirit Works Ltd.

"Our biggest issue with the Olympics is this: If you Google the term
'authentic aboriginal products,' the first item you see is the 2010 site."

That web page includes a selection of T-shirts, baseball caps and purses
manufactured offshore.

Jackson says they don't look like anything produced by aboriginal people.
And while 2010 sponsors like HBC stand to make millions of dollars in
sales, Jackson says his business is nearing bankruptcy.

Spirit Works specializes in items like bentwood cedar boxes and jewelry
inlaid with abalone.

Its items sell in 70 retail outlets, including the Vancouver Art Gallery,
Grouse Mountain, the Museum of Anthropology, the Bill Reid Gallery and the
Royal B.C. Museum.

Jackson, a 38-year-old former aboriginal rights lawyer, said he invested
$500,000 in the two-year-old company after believing promises about 2010
native opportunities: "If there is anything that I thought they could
never outsource, it's authentic aboriginal products."..."