Mary Histia

Acoma Pueblo

Mary Histia was a traditional potter from Acoma Pueblo. She lived from 1881 to 1973. She was the wife of San Juan Histia, mother of Dolores Histia Sanchez and grandmother of Cindy Sanchez Lewis. In the early 1930s she traveled to Washington DC and became an unofficial Potter to the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. With the support of Secretary of the Interior John Collier, Mary's polychrome ollas were soon to be found in many federal government offices.

Mary was known for her polychrome-on-white and polychrome-on-red jars, bowls and ollas, and her turkeys, turtles and owls. For a while she was the most famous potter from Acoma. She started making pottery as a teenager and was still making pottery until shortly before she passed on.