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American flag, ca. 1980
Gift of Anthony S. Rome, Jr., Baytown, Texas
Cotton, 29 x 53 inches
Click to see high-resolution
version (JPEG)
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![American Flag](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120926004039im_/http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/tokens_and_treasures/images/thumb_american_flag.gif)
In November 1979, Iranian militants took 66 Americans hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Of the 66 who were taken hostage, 13 were released on Nov. 19 and 20, 1979, and one was released on July 11, 1980. Despite attempts through diplomacy and economic sanctions, President Carter could not win the remaining 52 hostages their release, and a failed military raid in April 1980 took the lives of eight servicemen. After 444 days, Iran finally freed the hostages on January 20, 1981-moments after Carter officially turned the Presidency over to Ronald Reagan. During
what Carter has called the most difficult crisis in his life,
Americans expressed their support for his efforts with gifts,
including this American flag.
. . . It was my original intent to fly
the flag until [the hostages] were returned, as my voice of
support. I was hoping, as I am sure you were, that they would
be returned in a matter of days. This no longer seems possible.
Although I may disagree with you on some major political matters,
I will continue to pledge my support to you as President of
this great land in all of your efforts to free our people. I
was proud of your recent rescue attempt, and felt compassion
for you as well as the hostages in its failure. God be with
you, Mr. President, in your continued effort to resolve this
emotional as well as political crisis.
Letter from Anthony
S. Rome, Jr.,
June 12, 1980
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Olla (Jar), by G. Lucero, Laguna,
New Mexico
Gift of Floyd R. Correa, Governor of the Pueblo of Laguna
Painted ceramic, 10 x 11 inches
Click to see high-resolution
version (JPEG)
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During the Carter administration, an energy
crisis gripped the United States. Declaring the crisis "the moral
equivalent of war," President Carter proposed an all-out fight
to reduce American dependence on foreign oil and develop domestic
energy sources such as natural gas, solar energy, and nuclear
power. In 1979 Carter visited the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico,
a site rich in the uranium needed for producing nuclear energy.
The Pueblo's governor gave the President this gift to commemorate
his visitand to remind him of some of the costs of alternative
energy production.
. . . We are very proud to be
a small part of your Energy Independent America plan. Having suffered
through twenty-seven years of impacts of energy development on
our reservation, I can emphatically state that despite the discomforts
and trying times of inadequate school facilities, unimproved roads,
unmet housing needs, etc. the people of Laguna are strongly supportive
of you as the Father of this Nation . . . .
I hope this pottery will serve as a memento
of your trip to Pueblo Country . . .
Letter from Floyd
R. Correa,
October 11, 1979
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