WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) - All flags on the Navajo Nation will be flown at half-staff Tuesday in honor of the man who created the tribe’s iconic seal.
John Claw Jr. died Thursday in Gallup, New Mexico at age 82.
Claw’s daughter says he had been taken to the emergency room at Gallup Indian Medical Center for complications stemming from heart-related conditions.
In 1952 while attending Ganado High School in Arizona, Claw entered a competition to design the Navajo Nation Seal.
His winning design incorporated arrowheads, a rainbow, cornstalks, the Four Sacred Mountains and livestock.
Claw is survived by a sister, 11 children, 33 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.
A memorial service is scheduled Tuesday at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock with burial Wednesday at his family plot in Many Farms, Arizona.
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