During the early 1900s, Oqwa Pi, also known as Abel Sanchez, was key to a major development in the Indigenous arts of the Southwest as Native artists took control of interpreting and representing their own cultures after centuries of oppression and marginalization. Working primarily in watercolor, these artists drew their subject matter from the nonsacred parts of Indigenous ceremonies as well as traditional ceramic and mural imagery. Oqwa Pi was also a politician, serving the San Ildefonso Pueblo as governor for six terms.
