In 1995, Black became the first Navajo artist and the first artist from Utah to receive a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her baskets have been featured in collections and exhibits throughout Utah. Early and personal life 

Mary Holiday Black was born around 1934 to Teddy and Betty Holiday in Monument Valley, Utah. She had six siblings, and as the eldest daughter she was expected to stay home and take care of the household. She never attended school. When Black was 11 years old, she learned basket weaving from a relative of her grandmother's. In the 1950s, Black married Jessie Black, and the couple eventually had 11 children. Jessie died in 1994. Black passed on her weaving skills to nine of her children, and several of her children have gone on to become respected basket makers, including Jamison Black and Sally Black. Black speaks only the Navajo language, and has never learned English.
In 1995, Black became the first Navajo artist and the first artist from Utah to receive a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her baskets have been featured in collections and exhibits throughout Utah. 

Early and personal life:
Mary Holiday Black was born around 1934, to Teddy and Betty Holiday in Monument Valley, Utah. She had six siblings, and as the eldest daughter she was expected to stay home and take care of the household. She never attended school. When Black was an adult, she learned basket weaving from a relative of her grandmother's. In the 1950s, Black married Jessie Black, and the couple eventually had 11 children. Jessie died in 1994. Black passed on her weaving skills to nine of her children, and several of her children have gone on to become respected basket makers, including Jamison Black and Sally Black. Black speaks only the Navajo language, and has never learned English.