WA WA CHAW

- BONITA ‘WA WA CALACHAW’ NUNEZ (WA WA CHAW) -

Rincon Band Luiseño, 1888-1972

Bonita Wa Wa Calachaw Nuñez, also known as Wa Wa Chaw, Princess Wa Wa Chaw, and Wawa Calac Chaw or "Keep From the Water," was a Native American artist, activist, and writer. She was active in the Pan-Indian Movement in the early 1900s and was close friends with the Apache scholar, Dr. Carlos Montezuma. Nuñez donated 20 of her paintings to the National Museum of the American Indian before her death, where they're still held today. After her death, Stan Steiner compiled her writings and published the book Spirit Woman: The Diaries and Paintings of Bonita Wa Wa Calachaw Nuñez.