Velino Herrera

Velino Shije Herrera (October 22, 1902 – January 1973),[1][2]note also known as Ma Pe Wi, was a Zia Pueblo Indian painter.

Born in Zia Pueblo, New Mexico, Herrera attended the Santa Fe Indian School.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs prohibited arts training, but the wife of the superintendent of the school, Elizabeth Willis DeHuff, invited Herrera and his fellow students Fred Kabotie, Otis Polelonema, and Awa Tsireh to paint in her living room.

Herrera's work was widely exhibited in the US and Europe and included in the Exposition of Tribal Indian Arts traveling show (1931–33).

[1] Herrera's illustrative work included educational materials for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.