Main Subjects
Pueblos
Non-Pueblos
Artists
Shapes & Forms
Design Elements
I begin with Maria's parents so that I can include her sisters who worked with her for many years. Maria's business was true village technology in a village economy: it took half the village to satisfy the demand for what she created. The swine flu epidemic of 1918 hit them hard. When it finally passed, there were only 88 members of the tribe left. Maria taught half of them how to do what she did. That, essentially, saved them because there was no help coming from anywhere else. Thankfully, the 1920s were more prosperous for them all.
Some of the above info is drawn from Pueblo Indian Pottery, 750 Artist Biographies, by Gregory Schaaf, © 2000, Center for Indigenous Arts & Studies
Other info is derived from personal contacts with family members and through ongoing searches of the Internet and carefully scrutinizing any new data found.