In our March issue, we featured Jerry Jacka's photographs of Canyon de Chelly. One of the images shows a swastika on the wall of the canyon, but as our editor noted in the magazine, the swastika was a Native American symbol long before the Nazis used it. That's what led Judy Swarens of Carthage, Missouri, to write to us. She sent us the above photo and the following letter:
Enclosed is a picture of a doll and the blanket she has been wrapped in for a very long time. The doll was given to my grandmother as a young girl — she was born in 1898. She was passed on to my mother, born in 1918, and then to me, born in 1942. This doll has not been played with and has her original dress, coat, hat, leather shoes and lace stocking, and petticoat.
When I saw your March 2016 magazine, the picture of the Antelope House Design and editor's letter about the swastika symbol, it was a confirmation about the story passed on about the blanket and what that symbol really represented. The blanket is stitched together out of old flannel cigar box liners and has kept the doll safe for many years.
I really enjoy the magazine — thanks for this article. I have visited Canyon de Chelly — love the country. I plan to keep this magazine with the doll, as it will be passed on to my daughter and granddaughter."
Thanks so much for sharing this with us, Judy.