beaded strip, unrecorded Ndee or Diné artist

Students from the Theodore Roosevelt School in Fort Apache, Arizona produced this beaded strip. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, government policy in America initiated the assimilation of Indians into the dominant Euro-American society. To do this, Native American children were removed from their families and cultures and sent to boarding schools to become Americanized. They were given Christian names, forced to cut their hair, forbidden to speak their languages, and required to follow the tenets of Christianity. Crafts were encouraged because they kept students busy and taught them valuable lessons in capitalism. The beadwork they produced was sold to raise money for the school. Students did have some authority over the design and colors used. This beaded strip has a yellow field and dark blue border. It has a repeating design of two thick white chevrons with the points together, outlined in red.