Artifacts and gifts for tourists
are a major portion of an Indian reservation's economy.
Thousands of visitors tour
reservations each year and will not leave without purchasing at least one
memento of traditional Indian culture.
One enterprising Native American
was able to outsell all of his competitors in the category of wooden dolls by
selling them at a fraction of the cost others had to charge for them. Upon
examining his dolls closely, they found that where hard wood was traditionally
used, this particular Native American would use cheap pine on which he glued
thin pieces of fine mahogany, thus being able to produce the dolls at an
incredibly reduced price.
While he claimed his dolls were
still authentic Indian dolls, his competitors complained that they were only
cheap Sioux veneers.
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