Portait of Choctaw Storyteller to Hang at Capitol
Filed by Michael Cross in Feature, Local News, News, Politics.
February 9, 2010
The State Senate dedicates a portrait to a Chickasaw woman called Oklahoma first Cultural Treasurer by Governor Bellmon and the Oklahoma Arts Council.
A portrait of Te Ata was dedicated in honor of former State Senator Helen Cole who was Te Ata’s niece.
Cole’s son Congressman Tom Cole says as a renowned storyteller Te Ata made sure the world knew about the traditions of the Native American people.
“She continued to perform well into her 80s and do so not just in Oklahoma, not just regionally, but nationally and, indeed, internationally. So she was a pretty remarkable figure.”
Te Ata was born in 1895 near the town of Tishomingo and died in 1995 just a few days before her 100th birthday.
The painting of her was actually completed in 1919 by Oklahoma artist Nellie Ellen Shepherd who died less than a year later.
The portrait is being removed for restorative cleaning and will eventually hang on the second floor.
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It is interesting that the story tells the story of a Chickasaw storyteller, which is the Indian Nation in which she was enrolled and for whom she worked so hard, But the title posted states she is a Choctaw storyteller. It is ironic that both are true, Like most Chickasaws and Choctaws today, TeAta had both Chickasaw and Choctaw blood, but was considered Chickasaw because she was enrolled that way. It is unfortunate that just as the US government has done for years, Native Americans of more than one Nation were required to identify with only one part of their heritage.