Percy Tsisete Sandy, (born 1918) was a Zuni artist. His native name was Kai-Sa (Red Moon); he is also known as Percy Sandy Tsisete. His paintings were signed with the name ''Kai-Sa''.

Biography

Kai-Sa was born on the

Zuni Pueblo Zuni Pueblo (also Zuñi Pueblo, Zuni: ''Halona Idiwan’a'' meaning ‘Middle Place’) is a census-designated place (CDP) in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 6,302 as of the 2010 Census. It is inhabited largely b ...

in Northern New Mexico. He began painting in his youth while attending Zuni Day School. Later he enrolled in art programs in Albuquerque, and at the

Sherman Institute Sherman Indian High School (SIHS) is an off-reservation boarding high school for Native Americans. Originally opened in 1892 as the Perris Indian School, in Perris, California, the school was relocated to Riverside, California in 1903, under the n ...

in Riverside, California, and the

Santa Fe Indian School The Federal Government established the Santa Fe Indian School (SFIS) in 1890 to educate Native American children from tribes throughout the Southwestern United States. The purpose of creating SFIS was an attempt to assimilate the Native American c ...

in Santa Fe. He married Peggy Mirabel. The two moved to Taos as Mirabel was from

Taos Pueblo Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos-speaking (Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico. The pueblos are considered to be one of the oldest c ...

. They had three sons and a daughter. After moving to Taos, Kai-Sa met Helene Wurlitzer, a philanthropist who supported the work of numerous artists in New Mexico. After having his family over for dinner, she made a commitment to fund his art practice by establishing a credit account for him at a local art supply store. In 1955 he received a fellowship grant from Wurlitzer's foundation. The primary subject matter of his paintings were ceremonial rituals within Native communities, including Zuni, Taos, Apache and Navajo cultures. He is known for his and for his watercolor and gouache paintings of

Kachina A kachina (; also katchina, katcina, or katsina; Hopi: ''katsina'' , plural ''katsinim'' ) is a spirit being in the religious beliefs of the Pueblo peoples, Native American cultures located in the south-western part of the United States. In th ...

entities and dancers, and for his murals at the La Fonda Hotel in Taos, New Mexico, and at the Black Rock School and Black Rock Hospital in New Mexico. Kai-Sa described his intentions as an artist in 1940, "As an Indian artist, I hope to be instrumental in artistically and authentically depicting the customs of my people." His works revealing ceremonial rituals of the Zuni (of which he was a tribal member), caused friction among members of the pueblo. Kai-Sa was seriously injured in an accident in 1959, which periodically impaired his ability to paint, although he continued to exhibit his work.

Collections

Their work is held in the permanent collections of the Delaware Art Museum, the Gilcrease Museum, the

Smithsonian Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Other collections include the

Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...

, the Museum of New Mexico, the Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the

Indian Arts and Crafts Board The Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior whose mission is to "promote the economic development of American Indians and Alaska Natives through the expansion of the Indian arts and craft ...

the United Pueblo Agency of New Mexico, and the Museum of Northern Arizona.

References

Native American artists Zuni people 20th-century American artists 1918 births 1974 deaths {{NorthAm-native-bio-stub