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John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA
Female Native American Doll
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA

Female Native American Doll

Artifact IDMO 63.4778
Object Type Doll
Date ca. 1960
Place MadeUnited States of America
Medium Cotton, velvet, beads, sequins
DimensionsOverall H 14 1/2 in x W 13 in x D 3 1/2 in (36.8 cm x 33 cm x 8.9 cm)

Physical DescriptionFemale Native American doll with a stuffed cloth body and leather hands. Doll is dressed in a white velvet dress with red braided trim belted with a turquoise and copper ribbon. Bodice of dress is decorated with sequins and beads. She wears a beaded necklace and earrings.
Historical NoteIn 1922, the Seligmans, a mercantile family well-known in the Southwest, built the Santo Domingo Indian Trading Post in Domingo, New Mexico on Santo Domingo Pueblo land (Kewa Pueblo). The store's clientele included the Kewa Pueblo, passengers on the Santa Fe Railroad and travelers on the Santa Fe-Albuquerque highway (later part of Route 66) which passed by the store. Because of the roadside trading post's link to early automobile tourism, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
Fred Thompson took over ownership of the Trading Post in 1946 and operated it continously until his death in 1995. Thompson reportedly presented this Navajo doll to JFK on the President's brief visit to Sana Fe and Los Almos on December 7, 1962.




Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDoll was purchased at the Santo Domingo Indian Trading Post
Credit LineJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA; Gift of the Estate of President John F. Kennedy
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedUse Restriction NoteReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view