PHOENIX - A Senate bill that would have pulled the reins tighter on Indian arts fraud failed in the House 13-46 Tuesday.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Wettaw, R-Flagstaff, would have made it illegal for one tribe to claim a product was made by another tribe, a practice the Hopis of northern Arizona say happens frequently with their jewelry and kachina dolls.

Ferrell Secakuku, Chairman of the Hopi tribe, said members of the Navajo Nation in Arizona and New Mexico have been selling kachinas they claim to be Hopi. He called this "morally not right and unjust" and said it is a misrepresentation of the Hopi tribe origin.

Kachinas are seen as a spiritual force by the Hopis. Hopis pray to the kachinas for a variety of reasons, such as for rain and medicine, Secakuku said.

The word kachina is unique to the Hopi tribe and Hopis object to its use by other tribes. But Democratic Rep. Benjamin Hanley, a Navajo from Window Rock, Ariz. said an "Indian is an Indian as I see it" and the kachina is a commercialized product now that it is no longer solely a religious symbol. Hanley voted against the bill.

Franklin J. Hoover, assistant general counsel for the Hopi tribe, said the selling of fake Hopi and Zuni products takes place at arts and crafts shows throughout the Southwest because of their unique and well-known style.

Hoover said that in addition to the kachina, the Hopi tribe believes a form of jewelry manufacturing called inlay, a process of layering silver that results in a smooth surface, has also been pilfered by the Navajos.

Although Sen. James Henderson Jr., D-Window Rock, voted for the bill, he said in a later interview that he thought it was unnecessary and the feuding tribes should take care of their own business. But, he said, once lawyers get involved it becomes a "big deal."

Many members of the House, including Henderson, who is a Navajo, said they felt the state should stay out of tribal business, over which it has little control.

Republican Rep. John Verkamp of Flagstaff said the bill spiraled to defeat after Rep. Jack Jackson made a speech on the floor that Verkamp said added confusion to the issue.

Jackson, D-Window Rock, also a Navajo, said the bill's passage would create problems for Native Americans and their children who intermarry among tribes. This bill would deny these children the chance to practice whichever tribal customs they choose.

Secakuku called Jackson's argument an "excuse" and he said the Hopi tribe would continue to work on the problem by researching federal regulations that may address the issue.

George Allen, vice-president of the Arizona Retailers Association, said he agreed to support the bill after it was rewritten to move responsibility of proving tribal authenticity from the retailer to the supplier.

New language in the bill would have made it a violation of the consumer fraud act to sell falsely identified Native American products.

Hoover said this would have allowed retailers or customers to sue for damages instead of having to go through the Attorney General's Office.

As the law currently reads, violators of the imitation Indian arts and crafts act receive a civil penalty of no more than $5,000. It is legal to sell imitation Native American products as long as the dealer or retailer does not claim they are authentic.

To ensure the bill was not brought back to the floor for reconsideration within the approved two-day period, Rep. Robert Updike, R-Phoenix, called for reconsideration later that day, at which time it failed again.

House Republicans cast all 16 votes in favor of the bill. It passed the Senate 25-2.