Runner's Plaque (Awarded to Elmer Lomahaitewa)

Label

This plaque was awarded to Elmer Lomahaitewa in 1964 as part of the annual race honoring Hopi Olympian Tsökahovi (Lewis) Tewanima. Tewanima was a Hopi runner who was captured and sent to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, where he was given the name Lewis. Forced to participate in athletics, Tewanima found solace in running, tapping into a long historical tradition of Hopi footraces. School officials quickly recognized his talent, and he became a two-time Olympic athlete representing the United States, even though Native Americans did not have US citizenship. Tewanima’s accomplishments made him a hero amongst the Hopi and an inspiration to subsequent Native American athletes.

From the 2024 exhibition, A Space for Dialogue 117, Sports Culture: Gender, Belonging, and Nationhood, Madyson Buchalski '24, Conroy Intern

Exhibition History

A Space for Dialogue 117, Sports Culture: Gender, Belonging, and Nationhood, Madyson Buchalski '24, Conroy Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 9 - May 5, 2024

Native Ecologies: Recycle, Resist, Protect, Sustain, Owen Robertson Cheatham Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26, 2019-January 5, 2020

Northern Native American Basketry, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 4, 1990-October 20, 1991..

The Tradition Continues: Native American Art from New England Collections, Smith College Museum of Art, North Hampton, Massachusetts, March 10-May 29, 1994.

Publication History

Tamara Northern and Davina Begaye, Guide to the Exhibition of Northern Native American Basketry, Hanover, New Hampshire: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, 1990.

Provenance

Hopi Craftman Exhibition, Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona (won as a prize for a foot race by Elmer Lomahaitewa), July 1964; sold to Alfred Frank Whiting (1912-1978) for Dartmouth College Museum, July 1-4, 1964.

This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.

We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu

Subjects