About the Artist

(1935-1998) Dorothy May Strait whose tribal affiliation was Cherokee, was born in Phoenix, Arizona where she attended high school and community college.

Strait's preferred media were oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel and prints--all flat art.  She exhibited widely, winning awards most often in the late 1970's through the 1990's.  Dorothy Strait was the illustrator for the book  Four Ancestors: Stories, Songs, and Poems from Native North America.

In 1988 Strait was chosen the poster artist for the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonials held in Gallup, New Mexico.  Her painting, "Modern Day Pow Wow Drummers" resides in the Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C.