This highly stylized image of dancers posed against a blank background was painted by Oqwa Pi (Red Cloud). Also known as Abel Sanchez, he was key to a major development in the Indigenous arts of the Southwest, when Native artists took control of interpreting and representing their cultures through the medium of 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.
