I am 82 years old, a retired professor of fine arts, and a teacher of
children's Art classes at the Brooklyn (NYC), Newark and Montclair (NJ)
Museums, and elsewhere back in the 1950s and 60s.
79 years ago, I was diagnosed with Perthe's. The upper half of my left ball
joint had disappeared.

I recovered, although it took about 4 to 5 years, and was able to play
football and other active sports.

I have no photos, even though I have been looking through family
albums for them. I believe my parents were perhaps ashamed of my
disability, thus no photos.

I recently discovered one of me sitting on a pony at about age 8. It was wintertime and I am clad head to toe, including leggings. Protruding from the bottom of one legging is the end of the brace I had to wear, which went round my foot, so the foot would not touch the ground. If you have seen the film "Forrest Gump" in which the young Forrest is fitted with braces, that's how I looked. I was able to explain to my wife for the first time something of what I went through.

In 1995, because of arthritis, the left hip was replaced. I gave the surgeon a cock-and-bull story about having to have that bit of bone, due to my religion. "We never get tissue back from pathology!" was his reply. I insisted, and a month later he handed me a quart jar full of bloody tissue, which I dumped on the ground, reclaiming my head of femur.Because I had told the surgeon of the miraculous reappearance of the femur head in 1929-30, pathology had sectioned it into halves, and sectioned one half into quarters. It is quite plain to see the line above which the regeneration took place.I still have those 3 pieces of me, all dried out, kept in a nice
package.

Several times, while I was teaching children, I heard that one child had Perthes disease. I made it a point to talk to the parents, reassuring them that their kid would get better, that I was the walking example. I relieved a lot of minds.
I have led an active life. I played intramural football at University while on the faculty until I was 52 years old.
Attached you will find a photo of me in my present condition, aged 80 in the photo, and a resume synopsis.
Henry Niese

RESUME SYNOPSIS

HENRY E. NIESE President and Director

EAGLE VOICE CENTER, INC [501(c)(3)] .Box 44 Glenelg, MD 21737

BACKGROUND: Artist, Author, Teacher, Sundancer, Trained in traditional medicine by Bill Eagle Feather, Henry Crow Dog, Turkey Tayac

EDUCATION: Graduate of The Cooper Union and Columbia University, NYC

Academie de la Grande Chaumiere, Paris, Certificate, 1949

TEACHING (Partial list)

Consultant, Native American Lifelines 501(c)(3) Baltimore 2006-7

“Wisdom Keepers” Hot Springs, NC Cherokee, Iroquois, Lakota teachers, 1997-pres.

HUD-Office of N. A. Programs, traditional knowledge presenter,  AZ, CO, AK 02-03

Guest lectr. VA Tech,  Goucher Coll.,  MD Inst. Coll. of Art 2003-06

Eagle Voice Center, Traditional knowledge program, 1980-present

University Honors Program, University of Maryland, 1982-95

Art Department, University of Maryland College Park 1969-retired 1996

Yale University, Guest Fellow, 1979

College for Creative Studies, UC Santa Barbara, Guest Artist, 1975

MEMBERSHIP and SERVICE: Advisory board,  Humane Society of the US 1983-93

Unit Commissioner, National Pike District, Baltimore Area Council, BSA 1985-pres.

Religious advisor-volunteer, Native American inmates, Maryland DOC 1990-pres.

Also, Federal Prison Camp, Alderson, WV 1990s

Mentor, Graduate Minorities Program, University of Maryland College Park

102 Cavalry  Trp. A, NJSG 1943-45. 117 Recon Cav. Hq&Svc.Trp, 1948-49

EXHIBITIONS: 27 one-man shows since 1956, NYC, Dallas, New Haven, and others

GROUP SHOWS: Numerous group shows including;

Annual NY Avant Garde Art Festivals, 1969 through 1978

Whitney Museum, NYC, 1956, 1959, 1963, 1973

Corcoran Gallery Biennials, Washington, DC, 1955-57-59

“American Masters”, Ogunquit Museum, ME, 1958

National Institute of Arts and Letters, NYC, 1958

Museum of Modern Art  NYC, Boston, Toledo, Riverside Museums, and others

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS (partial list):

National Museum of American Art (Smithsonian),  DC (1 painting)

Whitney Museum, NYC (2 paintings), Corcoran Gallery, DC (1 painting)

NJ State Museum, Trenton, (3 paintings, 2 drawings)

Chrysler, Newark, Everhart, Housatonic Museums (1 painting each), others.

HONORS, PRIZES, GRANTS (Partial): “Diniktiyi” 1983, “Asgayakanunawu” 1984, Titles and position bestowed by Chief, Etowah Cherokee Nation

National Institute of Arts and Letters, Nomination for Grant, 1958

Silvermine Guild Prizes, 1952, 54, 57

Fellow, Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY, 1957

Pulitzer Award, 1954         W.A. Clark Prize, Corcoran Gallery, DC, Biennial, 1955

BIOGRAPHY: Who’s Who in American Art,  others.

BOOK:

The Man who Knew the Medicine: Bill Eagle Feather’s Teaching Bear & Co. 2002

SUNDANCING: 30 Sundances, Sioux Nation Sundance, Ironwood Hilltop Sundance, 4 Winds Sundance, Rosebud Reservation and elsewhere, 1975-present.

TRAVEL: London-Teheran by car, return via flying refugee Jews into Israel, 1950

12,000mi. camping trip around North America, visiting many tribes, 1975

         4 North Atlantic sea crossings, others.                                                   (Updated 12/06)