Pin of Plains Indian with Feathers [SOLD]

The story behind the artist who made this pin is as amazing and unique as the jewelry he made. Wayne Henry Hunt was the son of “Day Break” or Edward Proctor Hunt, an Acoma Indian who had been taken away from Acoma in the 1880s by a Presbyterian missionary to attend the new Indian boarding school in Albuquerque. His non-Indian sounding name came from the box he was given when he arrived at the school. Along with a coat, there was a Bible and inside the Bible was a letter stating that whoever received the Bible was to take the name of the donor. The elder Hunt never really returned to traditional Pueblo ways and eventually was driven from the Pueblo when he refused to participate in ceremonial activities.

Edward’s son, Wayne Henry Hunt, took the name Wolf Robe Hunt after the famous Southern Cheyenne Chief Wolf Robe (Ho'néhevotoomáhe). He attended high school in Albuquerque and then won a scholarship to attend the University of Chicago. He learned to make jewelry from his older brother, Clyde Hunt (Chief Sunny Skies). In addition, he was a student of painter Carl Redin. Wolf Robe opened his own gallery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he sold jewelry, paintings, leatherwork and beadwork.

This handmade pin made by Wolf Robe Hunt is an example of the work he made to sell at the gallery in Oklahoma. Hunt used a variety of stamps to create a wonderful silhouette of a Plains Indian. It is signed “Wolf Robe” at the bottom.

Condition: The Pin of Plains Indian with Feathers is in excellent condition.

Provenance: From a Southwest Indian Jewelry collection in Colorado.

Recommended Reading: North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment: From Prehistory to the Present by Margaret Dubin

Relative Links: Wayne Henry Hunt - Wolf Robe Hunt, Acoma Pueblo, Clyde Hunt - Chief Sunny Skies, Carl Redin, Southwest Indian Jewelry, Fine Art - Native American Paintings, Plains Indian