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Sandal

Medium/TechniqueYucca fibre

Dimensions21.5 x 10 x 1.5 cm (8 7/16 x 3 15/16 x 9/16 in.)

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Mary L. Eldridge

Accession number01.7258

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ClassificationsCostumes

Collections

ProvenanceAbout 1901, found near Cañon Largo, New Mexico and acquired by Mary Louise Eldridge (b. 1849 - d. 1933), Jewett, NM; 1901, gift of Mary L. Eldridge to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 1, 1901)

NOTE: Mrs. Eldridge began working in New Mexico in 1891 for the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1894, she was made field matron for the Women's National Indian Association, whose work in New Mexico was often funded by the chapter in Cambridge, MA. By 1898 Mrs. Eldridge was the superintendent for all Navajo work; she donated land to build a hospital in Jewett, with funds donated from members in Boston and Cambridge. In 1901, the newsletter of the WNIA (The Indian's Friend) began publishing a notice stating that anyone who wished to purchase Native American baskets or other goods could order them through Mrs. Eldridge, among others. The MFA made purchases in 1899, and these sandals were given in 1901. See Valerie Sherer Mathes, ed., Women's National Indian Association: A History (Albuquerque, 2015), 153-172.