Voice of America
Southwestern artists in the French Order of Academic Palms
Southwestern artists in the French Order of Academic Palms.
Nby REBECCA M. VALETTE and JEAN-PAUL VALETTE
ative American artists received international accolades well before they gained widespread recognition in their country of origin. On Sunday, August 14, 1954, in the presence of thousands of spectators at the Gallup Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial and via live broadcasts over Voice of America, French consul Paul Coze officially bestowed the Palmes académiques on 12 Pueblo, Navajo and Apache artists. This prestigious award, one of the highest French decorations, was created in 1808 by Napoleon to recognize the meritorious contributions of educators and artists in the promotion of culture and civilization. Coze, after first greeting the honorees in Navajo, announced: “It is a pleasure, on my part, to represent my government in recognizing the artistic achievement of the Indians of America.” Former Santa Fe Indian School teacher Dorothy Dunn, who was also honored on the same occasion, expressed her gratitude to France “for this tribute to the artistry of the American Indians.”
Today artist Coze (1903-1974) is best known in this country for his large colorful murals that adorn the
and promoting greater appreciation and respect for the native peoples of the area.
In 1952, as honorary consul of France, Coze conceived the idea of asking France to recognize the cultural contributions of Native American artists by initiating them as members of the Order of Academic Palms. With the cooperation of Dunn, he drew up a list of 12 honorees who would subsequently receive their medals during the Gallup Ceremonial.
Eight of the honorees were painters. This was not surprising since painting was the Native American art form that had been most widely publicized in the first part of the 20th century through exhibits in both the United States and Europe.
Awa Tsireh [“Cat-tail Bird”]/alfonso Roybal (18981955) from San Ildefonso Pueblo began his artistic career as a self-taught painter whose work was first exhibited in 1920 at the Arts Club of Chicago. His painting Koshares on Rainbow was featured on the cover of the 1931 catalog of the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts at the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York. In 1939, he was commissioned to create a large Pueblo Corn Dance mural for Maisel’s Indian Trading Post in Albuquerque.
Fred Kabotie (1900-1986) from Shongopovi on the
Hopi Second Mesa got his start at the Santa Fe Indian School shortly after World War I when Elizabeth Dehuff, wife of newly named superintendent, went against government policy by inviting students to her living room, providing them with art materials and asking them to depict aspects of their native cultures. He received international recognition when in 1932 his paintings were exhibited in the American Pavilion of the Venice Biennale. The following year, Mary Colter asked him to create murals for the Desert View Watchtower at the Grand Canyon.
Ma-pe-wi/velino Shije Herrera (1902-1973) from Zia Pueblo was known as the “singing artist” since he would sing chants from the sacred dances as he painted them. In 1919, anthropologist Edgar Lee Hewett admired his work at an exhibit and hired him to do paintings for the Museum of New Mexico. A group of Ma-pe-wi’s murals based on Pueblo life decorate the top floor of the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C.
Five of the painters were alumni of Dunn’s studio at the Santa Fe Indian School where they had been encouraged to give artistic expression to their tribal customs and ceremonies in the “flat style” typical of kiva murals and hide paintings.
Andy Tsihnahjinnie (1916-2000), from Rough Rock, northwest of Chinle, Arizona, was one of Dunn’s first Navajo students. In the late 1930s, he painted murals for the WPA (Works Progress Administration) depicting Navajo life. After military service in the South Pacific during World War II, he opened a studio in Scottsdale producing illustrations for several books and magazines including Arizona Highways.
Harrison Begay (1917-2012), from White Cone, west of Ganado, Arizona, was 17 when he enrolled at the Studio. In 1939, he was commissioned to paint a Yeibichai Dance mural at Maisel’s Trading Post in Albuquerque. After World War II, where he participated in the Battle of Normandy, he returned home to become a full-time artist.
Pablita Velarde/tse Tsan [“Golden Dawn”] (19182006) from Santa Clara Pueblo was one of the first female students to enroll at Dunn’s studio. Many of her paintings depict Pueblo women engaged in their daily tasks, such as grinding corn or making pottery. Between 1937 and 1943, she was commissioned to make over 70 paintings of Pueblo life for Bandelier National Monument, a project that led to what she considered some of her most meaningful works.
Allan Houser/haozous (1914-1994), a Chiricahua Apache, left his home in Oklahoma in 1934 to study art in Santa Fe. Although Dunn immediately recognized his painting talent, Houser found her focus on the flat style somewhat limiting. In 1947, he discovered his true calling in three-dimensional art upon winning a commission from the Haskell Institute in Kansas to create a 7-foot marble sculpture honoring Native Americans who had died in World War II.
Joe Hilario Herrera/see Ru [“Blue Bird”] (19232001) from Cochiti Pueblo had already learned painting techniques from his recognized artist mother Tonita Peña/quah Ah (1893-1949) before attending the Indian School in Santa Fe. His preferred subjects were ceremonial dancers which he depicted both individually and in groups. Later in his career, he developed an original abstract style based on native designs.
The four other honorees represented traditional Southwestern tribal crafts, which they had brought to a high level of artistic perfection.
Maria Martinez (1881-1980), from San Ildefonso Pueblo, was already internationally known for the black-on-black pottery that she and her painter husband Julian Martinez (1879-1943) perfected in the 1920s. A favorite design was the horned water serpent Avanyu depicted in shiny black against a black matte background. Maria was one of the first potters to sign her work, encouraging other members of her community to do likewise.
Severa Tafoya (1890-1973), from neighboring Santa Clara Pueblo, also specialized in blackware with the difference that her pottery patterns were frequently carved rather than painted. She would decorate her jars with bear paw imprints which were considered good luck symbols in arid New Mexico where bears were known for their ability to find water.
Ambrose Roanhorse (1904-1982) was a Navajo silversmith from the Ganado area who had learned his craft from his grandfather Peshlakai. Coze probably had the opportunity to meet Roanhorse in 1933
at the Santa Fe Indian School where the latter was teaching students the traditional silverwork. Widely recognized for his artistry, Roanhorse devoted much of his adult life to promoting the use of hallmarks to identify authentic handmade Indian jewelry.
Jimmy Kewanwytewa (1889-1966), from Oraibi on the Third Mesa, began carving katsina dolls for sale to collectors. In 1934, Harold Colton invited him to Flagstaff to help identify historic kachinas at the Museum of Northern Arizona and to demonstrate his wordcarving skills for visitors. He subsequently became the first Hopi carver to identify his work, signing the feet of his katsinam with the initials “JK.”
Finally, in keeping with the original spirit of the Palmes académiques, Coze decorated the art educator who had been tireless in promoting the talents of her Native American students.
Dunn (1903-1992), a graduate of the Arts Institute of Chicago, was the founder of the Studio School at the Santa Fe Indian School, which she directed from 1932 to 1937. Her students were encouraged to give artistic expression to their tribal identity and cultural heritage and to claim ownership by signing their paintings. More importantly, she publicized their work in over 35 local, national and international exhibits, sharing with them 50 percent of the sales and thus encouraging them to become professional artists.