OCTOBER 22, 1902

PUEBLO PAINTER MA PE WI (VELINO SHIJE HERRERA) BORN

Herrera, born in Zia Pueblo, New Mexico (NM), attended Santa Fe Indian School. As the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) then barred teaching art, the school superintendent’s wife had him, Fred Kabotie, Otis Polelonema, and Awa Tsireh paint in her living room. Their art, first shown at the Museum of NM in 1919 was then included in the 1920 Society of Independent Artists Exhibition in New York. His work was also in the Exposition of Tribal Indian Arts traveling show (1931–33). He helped paint the murals for the Main Building, US Department of the Interior, Washington, DC. Herrera however was ostracized by Pueblo elders for depictions of restricted ceremonies. He produced educational materials for author Ruth Underhill’s books, and for BIA author Ann Nolan Clark’s In My Mother’s House (1942 Caldecott Honor book). In 1954, he received the French Ordre des Palmes Académiques. Herrera died in Albuquerque, NM, in January 1973.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Painting:  Velino Shue Herrera, circa 1919.  "Buffalo Round Up"    New Mexico Museum of Art Library