Unprecedented for her time, in the late 1800s, Edmonia Lewis was the first sculptor of African American and Native American descent to achieve recognition both at home and abroad. Born to a Haitian father and Chippewa mother, Edmonia was orphaned at a young age and spent her childhood living with her mother's tribe. In her early twenties, she made her way to Massachusetts and came to meet the renowned sculptor Edward Brackett, with whom she eventually began studying sculptur