The Turtle was completed 15 years after the closure of the last federally funded Indian Boarding School – institutions which took Native American children away from their parents and communities and educated them in European cultural traditions – and was intended to serve as a hub for cultural education and preservation.

Once the largest center for Indigenous arts in the Eastern United States, the Turtle closed in 1996, and is now in danger of demolition as it's not a protected local landmark. This picture shows the turtle's head, which was once painted in black and white stripes to bring the animal to life.

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