Pablita Abeyta

Pablita Abeyta (Diné name: Ta-Nez-Bah; July 20, 1953 – January 31, 2017) was a Navajo activist and sculptor born in Gallup, New Mexico, United States. She is the eldest daughter of Sylvia Ann (Shipley) Abeyta and artist Narciso Abeyta. She was named for her grandmother and her name Navajo name translates to "One Who Completes a Circle." Her family was originally from the Cañoncito ("small canyon" in Spanish) Band of the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, located west of Albuquerque. In 2000 the reservation decided to change its name to To'Hajiilee ("drawing up water from a natural well" in Navajo).

Early life Pablita Abeyta was born in Gallup, New Mexico on July 20, 1953. Both her parents were artists; her father was Narciso Abeyta and her mother was Sylvia Ann (Shipley) Abeyta. Abeyta was one of seven children. Each child is artistically skilled, in skills ranging from weaving or creating sculptures and painting. Each child was given a Navajo middle name, with the goal of keeping the children connected to their Native American heritage. Abeyta's Navajo name, "Ta-Nez-Bah," translates as "One Who Completes a Circle."

Career

Activism Abeyta earned her Master of Public Affairs from the University of New Mexico in 1983. She left Campbell's office in 1988 to join the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1991, she became a congressional liaison for the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). At NMAI she monitored the planned museum's funding and participated in obtaining funding for the Smithsonian Institution, NMAI'S organizational parent. Her work is held in numerous private and public collections, including those of John McCain, Daniel Inouye, and the National Museum of Natural History. Abeyta's first piece to be auctioned came after her death in 2017. Her "untitled, two corn maidens" was auctioned at Cowan's Cincinnati 2020. A sculptural figure of a woman she created circa 1995 and sold at the Southwest Association for Indian Art's Santa Fe Indian market was donated to NAMI in 2008.