NEHMA Presents 'Repainting the I: The Intermountain Intertribal Indian School Murals'

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Utah State University is presenting an exhibition examining the artistic legacy of the Intermountain Intertribal Indian School that was active from 1950 to 1984 in Brigham City, Utah.

Repainting the I: The Intermountain Intertribal Indian School Murals, on view Jan. 25 through Dec. 6, 2025, comprises 11 recently restored murals that once adorned hallways and dorm rooms at the boarding school and examines this chapter in American history. This will be the first time that these murals will be on display since the demolition of the campus in 2013. In conjunction with the Intermountain exhibition, NEHMA will present Eagle Village: Sheila Nadimi featuring 38 photographs of Intermountain taken by Nadimi of the vacated and abandoned facility between 1996 and 2021.

During the first 25 years of its existence, the school admitted exclusively Diné (also known as Navajo) students, but later modified its policy to accept students from all tribes and renamed itself the Intermountain Intertribal Indian School in 1975. By the time the school closed in 1984, the majority of students were O’odham (Papago). The school was the largest boarding school for Native Americans in the United States, and throughout its operation housed over 20,000 students from 99 tribes across the country.

“A tradition that started at the school and continues to this day is that students who attended Intermountain have gathered over the years to repaint the monumental ‘I’ sign, symbolic of ‘Intermountain,’ on the property overlooking the former campus. The tradition of celebrating school pride and civic identity with these hillside letters — practiced across the Western states — ensures that the school and the thousands of youths who attended it are not forgotten,” said Intermountain alumna Lorina Antonio (Diné).

While the Native American boarding school era in North America is heavily marked by abuse, mistreatment and systematic erasure of students’ identities, Native students at Intermountain found ways to assert their cultural heritage and navigate the constraints of an assimilationist system.

Most other boarding schools primarily focused on strict policies to eradicate all forms of Native American cultural expression. At Intermountain and a small number of other schools, students leveraged opportunities such as the school’s robust arts programs to express their cultural identities and depict familiar landscapes.

Through their creativity and perseverance, students incorporated tribal themes and imagery into their artwork, much of which was prominently displayed across campus. These acts of artistic expression highlight the agency of Native students and the contributions of allies (primarily supportive educators and Native faculty and staff) who recognized and celebrated their resilience and strengths as Indigenous peoples.

Intermountain employed renowned Native American artists as instructors, including Allan Capron Houser (Chiricahua Apache), John Huskett (Diné), and Urshel Taylor (Ute and Pima). The school was also home to students such as Zig Jackson (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara), who became the first Native American photographer collected by the Library of Congress. By the time the school closed, Intermountain provided an environment replete with physical manifestations of heritage.

In 2013, when USU purchased the land on which the former school sat, these murals were found detached and in deteriorated condition in a garage. Since then, NEHMA has partnered with Intermountain alumni, scholars and tribal leaders to preserve — and now display — these significant artworks.

“The murals are an important part of regional and national history, as they demonstrate the high quality of art education at Intermountain and they are important artifacts to preserve and share with future generations. While most muralists’ identities remain unknown, we hope that by making this history accessible to the public, we can find out more information about who created these incredible artworks,” said Katie Lee-Koven, NEHMA’s executive director and chief curator. “Following the exhibition, we are identifying permanent homes for the murals in Utah, so they remain on public view.”

The exhibition has been made possible in part through the support of The Terra Foundation for American Art. The conservation of the murals was made possible in part by support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Exhibition Highlights

Among the works featured is The Returning Home Mural, 1965 by T. Draper (Diné), that was displayed in the school cafeteria. Most Intermountain students were Diné who came from different parts of the Navajo Nation, including in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. Having this mural in the cafeteria would have provided them with something familiar — a sense of home. In the mural, a Diné family stands in front of their hogan (a traditional Diné dwelling) as a family returns home in their wagon on a dirt road lined with sagebrush. Even in the 20th century, horse-drawn wagons were used on the reservations for transport.

The Hopi Eagle Dancer, circa 1975 by Rex Walter, embodies the spirit of the sacred eagle, a revered creature symbolizing strength, courage and connection to the spiritual world. The dancer’s movement mimics the majestic flight and behaviors of an eagle, creating a powerful and spiritual performance. The dance is a form of prayer and a way to honor the eagle's role in the natural and spiritual realms.

Another large mural by T. H. White shows a Diné couple dressed in their traditional attire on horseback overlooking the beautiful landscape of Monument Valley. Their attire indicates they are heading to a traditional or ceremonial event. In the foreground a young Diné boy herds his family's dibé (sheep) and tl’ízí (goat) who are usually taken to the water mid-morning, then to a green pasture to feed, after which they amble home as evening arrives.

Eagle Village: Sheila Nadimi

Visual artist Sheila Nadimi photographed what was left of the Intermountain Intertribal Indian School over a 25-year period beginning in 1996. The campus buildings at the time comprised of 27 dormitory buildings, two school buildings, a gymnasium, and a maintenance building.

Initially intrigued by the austere architecture, once inside, she found the imprint of former Native American students in artwork on the walls throughout the buildings. Using a manual Hasselblad medium-format camera, Nadimi chose photography as a medium for this project to convey the overall sense, which the artist calls "mapping," of this architectural site.

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art is dedicated to collecting and exhibiting modern and contemporary visual art to promote dialogue about ideas fundamental to contemporary society. NEHMA provides meaningful engagement with art from the 20th and 21st centuries to support the educational mission of Utah State University, in Logan, Utah. NEHMA offers complementary public programs such as lectures, panels, tours, concerts, and symposia to serve the University and regional community. Admission is free and open to the public.