Award winning Zia Pueblo artist Rafael Medina was known for his exceptionally fine and skillfully illustrated paintings depicting ceremonial scenes from his native nation. He was educated at Zia Day School, Zia Pueblo; Albuquerque Indian School and Santa Fe Indian School, where he studied under Velino Shije Herrera, Jose Rey Toledo and Geronima Montoya.

Rafael Medina (1929-1998) Teeyacheena was born at Zia Pueblo and lived in Gallup, New Mexico. According to Medina's son, Marcellus Medina, his father's painting style was mostly the flat traditional style first encouraged by Dorothy Dunn, the influential teacher at the Santa Fe Indian School. Marcellus described other influences on his father's work in a 1995 interview...