Royal Museum Shop response to CBC article regarding artist Harvey John

The Royal Museum Shop takes cultural appropriation very seriously. In light of the recent CBC article Major museum and art gallery shops duped by fake Indigenous carver posted today, we have verified that the artist Harvey John is not in our data base of current or past artists whose work we carry, or have previously carried. We have not purchased from, nor sold, this artist’s work in the Royal Museum Shop.

The Royal Museum Shop abides by our policies with regards to purchasing Indigenous Artwork:

Original Artwork

We have developed long term relationships with and have purchased original art work in various media directly from many Indigenous artists since 1971. We purchase directly from British Columbia Indigenous artists, negotiating a fair market price for each piece. Items must bear the artist’s signature and the artist must provide biographical information to accompany their work.

Items Featuring Indigenous Artwork

We also work with and purchase from primarily Canadian manufacturing companies and suppliers who develop product with Indigenous artists that feature their art. In purchasing from these companies, we have a strict policy that any item we carrying in the Royal Museum Shop featuring Indigenous art work must meet all of the following criteria:

1. the artist has agreed to their work being used in this manner by the manufacturer

2. the artist is paid a royalty or a licensing fee by that manufacture which the artist has agreed to

3. the item, and/or packaging, must have the artist’s signature, and/or information on the artist must accompany each piece

We continually assess the items we carry and the selection of new items carefully to ensure each meet all of the above criteria; If they do not, items are not purchased to sell in the Shop. If the circumstances of an item(s) changes and it no longer meets the above criteria, the item is removed from the Royal Museum Shop.