Ryan Wheeler

March 30, 2026March 30, 2026

Egypt in Rome

Contributed by Ryan J. Wheeler

Phillips Academy’s March 2026 spring break allowed for a family trip to Rome. These family vacations are often something of a busman’s holiday, with numerous excursions to museums, galleries, and ancient ruins. This week in Rome was no exception, and included lots of ruins, a day trip to Ostia Antica, as well as a visit to the newly opened mini-museum at the Colosseum subway station, and, truthfully, many, many more sights.

I visited Rome once before, as somewhat of a treat after receiving my master’s degree in 1992—that trip included a whole swath of Italian cities and only allowed for some Roman highlights (like the Colosseum).

Sphinx, Greek Cross Room, Vatican Museums. pink granite, likely first century CE.

What I came to appreciate on this trip with a little surprising—just how much Egypt influenced ancient Rome. I feel like I should have known this, especially since my graduate coursework included some wonderful Roman, Greek, and Egyptian art history classes from the late Barbara Barletta.

Obelisk, Piazza Navona. This monument was commissioned by Emperor Domitian and was eventually incorporated into Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers.

Not far from where we stayed—and in the Piazza della Rotonda—right in front of the Pantheon—we encountered an Egyptian obelisk. Apparently, there are around twelve or thirteen obelisks throughout Rome, some Roman recreations of Egyptian architecture, others actually brought from Egypt. The one by the Pantheon is covered in hieroglyphics, including cartouches that link it to Ramses II.

A complete tour of Egyptian obelisks in Rome was not on our itinerary, but we did manage to see quite a few, including the Flaminio Obelisk, originally from Heliopolis, dating to the thirteenth century BCE and brought to Rome by Augustus in 10 BCE (now in the Piazza del Popolo); the Sallustian Obelisk (at the top of the Spanish Steps, opposite Santissima Trinita die Monti—its hieroglyphs seems to copy those of the Flaminio Obelisk); the 1667 Elephant and Obelisk in the Piazza della Minerva, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and incorporating a sixth century BCE obelisk; and the Obelisk of Montecitorio or Psamtik II, which had formed the gnomon of a Roman sundial. In fact, the lure of the obelisks was so great that I wandered off to get a closer look at the obelisk in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

In case you were wondering about the obelisk used as the gnomon of a Roman sundial, here is an eighteenth century depiction of the horologium of Augustus, engraving by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), from *Opere di Giovanni Battista Piranesi*, Francesco Piranesi e d’altri. Firmin Didot Freres, Paris, 1835-1839, Volume 10.

Sadly, time did not permit a tour of the Egyptian gallery at the Vatican Museums, but we did spot several interesting pieces of Egyptian statuary as we pushed through the crush of humanity along with the other 35,000 daily visitors. I was particularly taken with a pair of Egyptian style pillar-statutes in the Greek Cross Hall. You can tell these are Roman copies of Egyptian artwork by their pose—the first century Romans went for symmetry, alternating right and left feet forward, while the Egyptian convention dictated the left leg forward.

Anubis featured on a fresco in an early Roman home, later built over by the Baths of Caracalla. Cults of Egyptian gods were prevalent in Rome 2,000 years ago.

Many of the ancient obelisks had been parts of temples, removed and reset in later times. We also got a sense of just how pervasive Egyptian art, architecture, and deities were in ancient Rome with a glimpse at a fresco showing Anubis, the jackal-headed Egyptian god of death, in the ruins of a Roman house pre-dating the construction of the Baths of Caracalla by several hundred years.

Egyptian sphinxes and faux-hieroglyphics in the Egyptian Room, Galleria Borghese hint at the Egyptomania of late eighteenth century Rome.

Egyptian influences continued well into later periods, as evident in the late eighteenth century Egyptian Room in the Galleria Borghese, which includes non-sensical hieroglyphic decoration, lots of red granite, Egyptian style ornamental architecture, and Greco-Romanized Egyptian gods in the ceiling frescoes. So, not only was Egypt an inspiration to the ancient Romans, but borrowing designs, materials, and items continued for a long time!

A zippy cab ride back to the airport provided a quick glimpse of a pyramid in Rome as well (though I was too slow to snap a pic). The pyramid, built around 18 BCE, serves as the tomb of Caius Cestius, a Roman official, who may have been involved in Roman campaigns against Meroe, explaining his interest in the steep pyramids that contrast with those at Giza. Originally out in the countryside, the pyramid has been incorporated into more recent city walls and enveloped by the bustling metropolis.

More subway construction, Piazza Venezia, which will feature a new mini-museum!

We agreed that we needed to return to Rome at some point, and I’m positive we will find more Egyptian pieces! We learned about additional mini-museums being created at new and expanded subway stops, so we will have those at the top of our itinerary.

December 11, 2025December 16, 2025

The Not So Amazing Peabody Heist(s)

Contributed by Ryan J. Wheeler

Flyer for a dance at Phillips Academy capitalized on the Louvre heist, November 2025.

The brazen theft of crown jewels from the Louvre on October 19, 2025 fed the ongoing public fascination with museum heists. From details like which mobile work platform was used to access the museum to issues with security, there was almost endless interest and speculation. Even the dapper high school student mistaken for a French detective captured the world’s attention. Not surprisingly, the museum heist is a classic movie and tv trope from the recent The Mastermind (2025) to How to Steal a Million (1966) to the multiple versions of The Thomas Crown Affair (1968, 1999—and apparently a new one in production!), and many others. Fictional literature about heists could occupy a library. Even students here at Phillips Academy hosted a Louvre heist-themed dance! The exciting and glittery portrayals of museum heists, however, often veer far from the real blend of cunning, avarice, ineptitude, and the real mess that museum thefts leave in their wake. Just a few days before the Louvre heist, thieves gained access to the Oakland Museum’s storage spaces, taking over 1,000 objects, including many Native American items.

Plan of the Louvre from Phillips Academy student trip, 2015.

When I joined the Peabody Institute in 2012, former director Jim Bradley told me to be on alert for missing items, presumed stolen at some unknown point in the museum’s past. Early in Jim’s tenure as director, he had been involved in the recovery of a shell gorget from the Etowah site in Georgia. Since that time several collectors have returned items from Etowah and Maine, and others have been tracked down with the aid of the FBI art crimes team. What we now understand is that the Peabody Institute experienced two thefts—one in late 1970 or early 1971, and another in 1986.

Eagle-Tribune article from 1986 recounts George McLaughlin’s theft of artifacts from the Peabody Museum.

Marla Taylor and John Bergman-McCool recount the theft by George McLaughlin in 1986 in their 2020 blog post. McLaughlin gained access to the Peabody’s collection housing areas at a time when the institution lacked professional staff. That made it easier, but he also stole from other museums across New England and several private collectors. He was ultimately caught by the FBI and prosecuted, but not before removing most of the catalog numbers from the thousands of stone tools that he had taken. It was unclear what McLaughlin’s plans were, but it seems he was readying items for sale. And while the FBI arrest prevented that, to this day we have a large number of items that have lost their original provenience—in other words, a big mess.

Boston Sunday Globe article recounts the return of the Etowah shell gorget (December 27, 1992).

I’ve shared before about an earlier theft at the Peabody Institute (also, see my article in the April 2018 SEAC newsletter). Based on correspondence, we are confident that items from Georgia and Maine were stolen in late 1970 or early 1971 while exhibits were being refreshed and updated. These items had been on display when they were photographed to illustrate Dean Snow’s 1976 book The Archaeology of North America. It seems like they were taken while awaiting reinstallation in the exhibits. As I mentioned above, a number of these items have been returned, either by conscientious collectors or through an investigation by the FBI art crimes team, begun in January 2018 when one of the Etowah items was returned to us. Many of these items are funerary objects and subject to repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Their continued absence complicates those repatriation efforts.

The Indian River Press Journal sought reader opinions about the 1980 theft of Spanish shipwreck treasure from the McLarty Museum and if treasure items should continue to be exhibited (Friday, March 8, 1980, page 8).

Unlike the glamourous (or humorous) fictional depictions of museum heists, these are often crimes of opportunity, driven by greed or misguided ideas about the role of museums in caring for and sharing art and culture. I think one example from my past career as Florida’s state archaeologist aptly captures the stupidity of the museum heist. Our collections in Florida included impressive holdings recovered from the shipwrecks of Spanish treasure galleons. Loans to the McLarty Museum near the survivor’s camp of the 1715 fleet wreck included gold coins and gold bars. In 1980, thieves defeated locks and security systems, but when confronted with the reality of disposing of a gold bar, things took a weird turn. They used a hack saw to begin cutting a gold bar into more saleable (or tradeable) pieces before being apprehended. The gold bar was recovered, but the saw cut end remains at large. During our annual 100% inventory of precious metals and coins our outside auditor frequently questioned what was going on with the clearly chopped up gold, so much so that we finally tucked some of the paperwork and news coverage with the piece to allay fears that we were helping ourselves. The thief in that case ultimately criticized press coverage, telling the court that he was “by no means a professional burglar” and that the theft was just a “reckless impulse.” So, enjoy that museum heist movie or book, but remember, it’s a far cry from the real mess made by these thefts.

November 18, 2025

Who Are These People?

Contributed by Ryan Wheeler

As we prepare updated Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) summaries and the required notices following claims and decisions about affiliation we are frequently confronted with the names of collectors. Some of these are quite familiar to us, Warren K. Moorehead, for example, who was our first curator and then our director. We recognize that the names of collectors often hold significant clues that may help make connections between now widely distributed holdings—what we refer to as “split and shared collections,” or aid in understanding localities or other entanglements. I’ve started developing short biographies of some of the collectors, with the hope that knowing when and where they were active might inform some of these other considerations. To develop the biographies, I usually rely on genealogical information to fill in birth and death dates, geography, personal and professional connections, and other details. Many of these collectors were in contact with Warren Moorehead and their names appear in his correspondence files or in his books, especially those volumes that highlight collectors and collections. In other cases, the collectors have some connection to our parent organization, Phillips Academy—either as students, alumni, or faculty. Here are a few recent biographies:

Byington’s advertisement in *The Philatelic West*, 1928.

Edward Spencer Byington (often styled as E.S. Byington) was a civil engineer in DeQueen, Sevier County, Arkansas (1866-1941). He worked for several railroad companies, including DeQueen & Eastern. Byington often bought and sold artifacts, and his ads can be found in several publications—see for example, The Philatelic West (1926), and Hobbies, the Magazine (1931). One of Byington’s ancestors was Cyrus Byington, an early settler and missionary to the region, who had traveled to the area with Choctaw people being forced from their homes in Mississippi. E.S. Byington was an affiliate of Warren K. Moorehead and advocated for establishment of an “Association of Indian Relic Collectors & Dealers.” Correspondence with Moorehead indicates he was collecting artifacts during railroad construction and maintenance. Byington is listed as the source of at least 131 items in the Peabody Institute holdings.

McWhorter (far right) with interpreter Thomas Hart (far left) and Yellow Wolf, October 1908–from McWhorter’s book Yellow Wolf: His Own Story (1940)

Lucullus Virgil McWhorter (often styled as L.V. McWhorter) was an American farmer and rancher, frontiersman, and writer who was a regular source of Native American material heritage for Warren K. Moorehead at the Peabody Institute (1860-1944). McWhorter compiled information on Indigenous communities and history of the Pacific Northwest, and is generally regarded as an advocate and ally of the Native American individuals and tribes that he worked with, including Yellow Wolf and the Nez Perce. See Washington State University for the McWhorter papers and finding aid, which frequently mention Moorehead: https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv98497. McWhorter is listed as the source of at least 507 items in the Peabody Institute holdings.

Diné silverwork illustrated in *Enduring Visions*, the exhibit catalog co-authored by Donnelley Erdman.

Donnelley Erdman (1938-2024) was a graduate of Phillips Academy (Class of 1956), an architect and instructor at Rice University. In 1978-79 he was involved in an exhibition of Southwestern material culture at the Aspen Center for the Visual Arts, Aspen, Colorado. See Philip M. Holstein and Donnelley Erdman (1979) Enduring Visions: One Thousand Years of Southwestern Indian Art, Aspen Art Museum (exhibit catalog). Erdman is listed as the source of at least 195 items in the Peabody Institute holdings.

Lucien White Stilwell (often styled as L.W. Stilwell) was born in New York and grew up in Wisconsin (1843-1932). Following graduation from Ripon College, Stilwell moved to Cairo, Illinois and engaged in the grocery business. Throughout the 1860s and 1870s he was engaged in the grocery business via several partnerships, briefly worked for the Elgin Watch Company before relocating to Deadwood, South Dakota in 1879. In Deadwood, Stilwell was involved in banking, but it was here that he began to develop and expand his business in buying and selling Native American and natural history items. Throughout the 1880s he frequently advertised in collecting magazines, including Young Oologist, Mason’s Coin Collectors Magazine, The Agassiz Association Journal, The Museum, Hoosier Naturalist, The Philatelic West, and others, as well as short publications on geology. In the early 1900s he published catalogs advertising his “Indian Relic and Curio” establishment. He sold his business to Kenneth J. Crawford Company in 1928. Condensed from a longer biography by John N. Lupia III: https://www.numismaticmall.com/encyclopedic-dictionary-of-numismatic-philatelic-biographies/stilwell-lucien-white Stilwell is listed as the source of at least 18 items in the Peabody Institute holdings.

October 22, 2025

Do You ATALM?

Contributed by Ryan J. Wheeler

It was really fun to encounter Peter Toth’s monumental wood carving of Sequoyah outside the Museum of the Cherokee People. Toth created over 70 of these sculptures as part of his Trail of the Whispering Giants project. I met the artist in 1983 when he was carving a tribute to the Seminole on Fort Lauderdale beach.

Four members of the Peabody Institute team attended the 2025 Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) conference held in Cherokee, North Carolina this October, continuing our tradition of sending personnel that goes back about a decade. This year’s conference saw over 1,000 museum, archive, and library professionals convene at the meeting facilities of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, coinciding with the festivities of the 113^th Cherokee Indian Fair. The fair featured a parade, agricultural and cultural events, stick ball, an art show, and more.

The Cherokee Day parade featured contestants in the Miss Cherokee pageant, lots of agriculture themed floats, marching bands, a drum line. And candy. So. Much. Candy!

Back at the conference, attendees had lots of opportunities to network and learn at expert sessions and demonstrations. Highlights for the Peabody team were visits to the Museum of Cherokee People, Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual Co-op, the Oconaluftee Indian Village, the informal NAGPRA networking session, the Repatriation Talking Circle, and One Square Inch of Ceremony (and additional workshops with Lily Hope, Tlingit artist, educator, and community facilitator). Marla Taylor, Peabody curator of collections, participated in the session Institutional Approaches to NAGPRA Duty of Care, along with colleagues from museums, universities, and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Canoes are everywhere! Exciting to see this dugout canoe at the Museum of the Cherokee People. The museum, one of the earliest Tribal museums in the US, has a series of great interpretive panels questioning how best to tell the Cherokee story. For example, why do museums always begin with PaleoIndians? Back to the canoe–this great example of a dugout is about 200 years old and was found in the 1970s on the Chattahoochee River near Helen, Georgia.

Many great meals were shared as well, but the best part was reconnecting with old friends, meeting colleagues regularly seen on Zoom in person, and making new friends. If you haven’t attended an ATALM conference, we highly recommend it!

August 25, 2025August 25, 2025

Red Sox 2025 Native American and American Indian Celebration

Contributed by Ryan Wheeler

Early this summer we learned from our friend and colleague David Shane Lowry about the Red Sox Native American & American Indian pride night at Fenway—purchasing tickets for the game on August 6 included a Native theme jersey, with some proceeds supporting Native American Lifelines.

Fans wearing their Shawmut jerseys enjoying the drum circle before the game on August 6, 2025.

According to the Red Sox website, “The jersey design is inspired by Eastern Woodland ancestors whose names were once known, and contemporary Native artists Sage Carbone and Brittney Walley. The back of the jersey features “Shawmut” on the name plate, derived from the Algonquian word “Mashauwomuk” which refers to present-day Boston.”

Along with the jersey, which my son and I were excited about, pre-game activities included a drum circle and on-field recognition of about 30 local Native American leaders and educators.

Recognition of Native leaders and educators before the game–David Shane Lowry waves to the crowd.

It was a good game against Kansas City, despite a rare Red Sox loss this season. The Native theme night got me wondering about Native Americans and the Red Sox, and baseball in general—beyond Jim Thorpe.

After a little research, I learned a lot—for example, recently Traci Sorell and Arigon Starr published a graphic novel Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series, which tells the true story of John Meyers and Charles Bender, who in 1911 became the first Native baseball players to face off in a World Series. There’s a great academic article by Jeffrey Powers-Beck that explores the history of Native Americans and baseball, which begins with Louis Francis Sockalexis in 1897—decades before Jackie Robinson broke the color-barrier in MLB. About 50 Native American tribal citizens who have or continue to play baseball, as well as many others with Indigenous heritage—Baseball Almanac has a list: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/american_indian_baseball_players.shtml

Cover art from *Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series*, the true story of John Meyers and Charles Bender, who in 1911 became the first Native baseball players to face off in a World Series.

Charlie Vascellaro’s 2012 article The Real Indians of Baseball explains that Indian boarding schools—including the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial School—added baseball to their curriculum and produced many of the Native American players in the minor and major leagues. As Tribes and families continued to resist forced removal of children and the boarding school era waned, fewer Native players joined MLB. Looking at the Baseball Almanac list, almost all Native players played games before 1950, with a minority playing since then. Many were nicknamed “chief,” and in some cases became the models for derogatory team names, like the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians), inspired by Penobscot player Louis Sockalexis.

2011 Topps Baseball Series 2#351 Jacoby Ellsbury Boston Red Sox Official MLB Trading Card.

And what about the Red Sox? Well, I was delighted to learn that Jacoby Ellsbury played for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013. An enrolled member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Ellsbury is the first Native American of Navajo descent to play Major League Baseball. Jacoby Ellsbury played for the Sox in two World Series appearances, winning the championship in both 2007 and 2013. After signing with the New York Yankees, several injuries and a contract dispute sidelined Ellsbury in 2019. According to NDNsports.com, Ellsbury was recently elected to the Oregon State Athletics Hall of Fame—his home state—and despite some truly impressive stats and records, missed the 2024 vote for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

We look forward to the next Native pride event at Fenway and wearing our jerseys to the next game. Play ball!

Congratulations Emma!

The Peabody’s own Emma Lavoie was recognized with Phillips Academy’s Beyond the Call of Duty Award at the spring staff and administrators award celebration on May 20!

Emma shows off her Beyond the Call of Duty Award.

The award announcement states, “The Beyond the Call of Duty Award is designed to acknowledge and celebrate staff who demonstrate exceptional support/customer service to colleagues within their own department, across campus, our students, parents or alumni. All nominees should embody the non-sibi spirit!”

This describes Emma precisely! Emma’s job title is staff assistant, responsible for business and communication here at the Peabody, but she does so much more–Emma has taught lessons and helped with lessons, produces beautiful communication and social media pieces, cataloged material culture, organizes travel for staff members and visitors, keeps us organized, networks with other programs and departments on campus, comes early or stays late to help with events (which she has often planned and organized), serves on the Phillips Academy staff council, and much, much more.

Emma decorating her ceramic creation under the watchful eye of Maxine Toya–Emma makes all the travel arrangements for visiting Native artists, like the Toya Family, Pueblo of Jemez.

Award recipients will receive two days added to their vacation bank as well as a gift of PA apparel from the Campus Closet.

Congratulations Emma!

March 12, 2025

Annual Repatriation Conference in Louisiana this Year

Contributed by Ryan J. Wheeler

This year marked the 10th annual repatriation conference organized by the Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA). The conference was hosted at the end of February by the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe’s Paragon Resort in Marksville, Louisiana. The Peabody Institute of Archaeology was one of several co-sponsors, celebrating ten years of the conference, dedicated to learning and sharing our work in repatriation.

Melanie O’Brien, program manager of the National Park Service NAGPRA program, leads training at the annual repatriation conference.

A highlight of the conference is spending time with friends and colleagues from Tribes, federal agencies, and museums who all share in the day to day work of repatriation. While NAGPRA and repatriation have made headlines over the course of the last year, with reporting by ProPublica and many local news outlets, as well as the attention garnered by the new regulations and duty of care provisions, most people don’t completely understand the behind the scenes and day to day work involved in repatriation. Spending time with other engaged in the work is really meaningful. It’s also a great opportunity to meet new people and learn new things.

A fun feature of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe’s resort and casino is a replica bayou in the lobby complete with about twenty alligators (we counted, or tried to).

Another highlight was an opportunity to visit the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe’s museum and cultural center, which features the Tunica Treasure. The Tunica Treasure was found by looters in the late 1960s who disturbed a Tunica cemetery in West Feliciana Parish. The treasure included late eighteenth century trade goods and Native-made items, including one of the largest caches of glass beads in the Western Hemisphere. The Tribe’s success in recovering the historic belongings in state court helped them regain federal recognition, which had been lost during the federal government’s termination era. While some might be surprised to see burial items displayed, its important to remember that each Tribe makes their own decisions about what happens with their cultural heritage, reflecting their sovereignty.

Conservation lab built and operated by the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe in their work to preserve the Tunica Treasure.

February 21, 2025

Atlatl Math

Contributed by Ryan Wheeler

Rebecca Bowers’ Math 360 students spent a cold February day exploring the ancient hunting technology of the throwing board or atlatl. Peabody educators provided an introduction to the atlatl–which first appears around 21,000 years ago in Upper Paleolithic France and was used throughout much of the world. Acting as a lever and extension of the arm, the atlatl allows users to throw six foot darts at great velocity and distance. Students examined Arctic throwing boards, as well as a replica of the fawn or doe spear thrower hook from Mas d’Azil cave in France. Ms. Bowers provided some formulas to model projectile mathematics. Students collected their own data with multiple trials on the Vista. At least one throw exceeded 170 feet, which is pretty impressive!

December 18, 2024

New Acquisition: Wampum Belts

Earlier this year the Peabody Institute was fortunate to add two impressive wampum belt replicas to its collection of contemporary Native American art.

Tony Gonyea, Faith Keeper, Onondaga Nation presents Gaswéñdah, a two row wampum belt replica to Peabody director Ryan Wheeler.

Tony Gonyea, Faith Keeper of the Onondaga Nation, is well known for crafting modern wampum belt replicas, melding traditional designs and techniques with modern materials. A 2014 article by Wendy Gonyea on the Onondaga Nation’s website tells us that Tony’s oñgwehoñwe name is Wah’hasoñhdah, “He’s adding on.” Tony explains that to create a belt, “It takes hours upon hours into the evening. Working a little at a time, but when a belt is finished the end product is amazing. It feels nearly as powerful as the original.”

Both belts have already made appearances in community programs and classes, and we anticipate that Tony’s belts will remain popular with Peabody Institute visitors.

November 4, 2024November 13, 2024

New Acquisitions: Mia Toya Butterfly Vessel

Contributed by Ryan Wheeler

Mia Toya’s melon swirl vessel with distinctive butterfly lid. I particularly like the creamy slip, which sets this piece apart from others in the Peabody collections.

Early this fall–just after Santa Fe Indian Market–we were fortunate to add to the Peabody Institute collections this lovely melon swirl vessel by Mia Toya (Pueblo of Jemez). Mia and her family have a long relationship with the Peabody and Phillips Academy, regularly coming to campus to conduct week-long workshops on Pueblo pottery making with students in Thayer Zaeder’s studio ceramics classes.

Mia helps a student perfect their piece in Thayer Zaeder’s campus ceramics studio, May 2024.

Mia is a member of the Corn Clan and was inspired to continue the long lived tradition of working with clay from many members of her family who are well known artists, including her mom Maxine, grandmother Marie G. Romero, aunt Laura Gachupin, and her sister Dominique. Mia began working with clay at the age of 14 and continues to add her unique style of art to this day, constructing pieces using hand coiling methods, stone polished slips, and figural elements like her distinctive butterfly lids.

Mia’s piece (far left) joins other Toya Family creations in the Peabody Institute collections, including collaborations between Dominique and Maxine Toya, Maxine’s storyteller and owl figures, Dominique’s distinctive micaceous swirl vessels, and a piece by Mia’s grandmother Marie G. Romero (second from the left).

Watching Mia work with students, its not surprising that in addition to being an accomplished artist, she’s also an educator. Mia teaches second grade at Jemez Day School. A Bureau of Indian Education social media post from 2016 includes a quote from Mia, reflecting on becoming a National Board Certified teacher, “I always knew I wanted to teach in this school–to serve the kids in my community and be one of their role models. Being a National Board Certified teacher helps me give my best to my students, community, and Tribe every day.”