Leon Polk Smith Native American Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Interviews
Video recordings
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Joe Feddersen, 2021 April 29 and May 6. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Leon Polk Smith Native American Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Video recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with James Lavadour, 2021 April 29 and May 13. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Margaret Roach Wheeler, 2022 October 21-24. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview with Margaret Roach Wheeler conducted 2022 October 21-24, by Laura Clark for the Archives of American Art, at Wheeler's home and studio in Sulphur, Oklahoma.
Biographical / Historical:
Margaret Roach Wheeler (Chickasaw/Choctaw) (1943- ) is a weaver and textile artist based in Oklahoma known for her research into and revivification of pre-colonial designs and techniques.
Laura Clark (Muscogee Creek) (1953- ) is an Indigenous scholar, curator, and educator based in Houston, Texas.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the recording is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Leon Polk Smith Native American Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with G. Peter Jemison, 2021 April 25 and May 3. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview with Brenda Kingery conducted 2022 September 10-15, by Laura Marshall Clark for the Archives of American Art, at Kingery's studio in San Antonio, Texas.
Biographical / Historical:
Brenda Kingery (Chickasaw; 1939- ) is a painter and educator who creates syncretic works that incorporate elements from indigenous cultures around the globe. Kingery was raised in Oklahoma, studied in Okinawa, and is based in San Antonio, Texas. Laura Marshall Clark (Muscogee Creek; 1953- ) is an indigenous scholar, educator, and curator who has worked in Oklahoma City, OK and is currently based in Houston, TX.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the recording is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
An interview with G. Peter Jemison conducted 2021 April 25 and May 3, by Nicole Scott, for the Archives of American Art, at Jemison's studio and home on Seneca land in Victor, N.Y.
Biographical / Historical:
G. Peter Jemison (1945-) (Seneca, Heron Clan) is a New York based artist whose paintings and mixed media works draw on orenda, the Haudenosaunee belief that spiritual force pervades all creation. He has advocated for Native autonomy as a curator and representative on federal advisory councils.
Nicole Scott (1988-) (Navajo) is director of the Native American Future Steward Program at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the recording is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
An interview with Joe Feddersen conducted 2021 April 29 and 2021 May 6, by Cecile Ganteaume for the Archives of American Art, at Feddersen's home in Omak, Washington.
Biographical / Historical:
Joe Feddersen (1953–) is a Colville artist who uses print, photography, glass, and craft; he is active in Omak, WA. He is especially known for the integration and reimagining of traditional Native motifs and techniques in his work. He has taught at Evergreen State College.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the recording is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
An interview with James Lavadour conducted 2021 April 29 and May 13, by Rebecca Trautmann for the Archives of American Art, at Lavadour's home on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Biographical / Historical:
James Lavadour (1951 –) is a painter of Walla Walla descent and a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation known for his abstract landscapes. He is a co-founder of the Crow's Shadow Institute of the Arts.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the recording is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The collection consists of an artist's sketchbook, now disbound and laminated, including twenty-one (21) drawings by Making Medicine of scenes of hunting, life at Fort Marion, wagons, trains, and camp life. The drawings are lettered A-U, and individually captioned by George Fox. Inside the front cover the words "Drawn by" and "Cheyenne" are in handwriting of George Fox; the name "Making Medicine" was written by the artist himself. The collection also includes a note from Fox (undated) and letter of transmittal from the donor, Mrs. Burnside (October 1923).
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Biographical Note:
Making Medicine, also known as O-kuh-ha-tuh or "Sun Dancer" and David Pendleton Oakerhater (1844?-1931) was a Cheyenne warrior who became one of the most prolific of the Native American artists at Fort Marion and first sergeant of the company of guards there. When the Fort Marion prisoners were released in the spring of 1878, Making Medicine went to New York to be educated in the Christian ministry. He took the name David Pendleton Oakerhater after the family that sponsored him (the family of Senator George Pendleton), was ordained an Episcopal deacon on 7 June 1881, and worked as a missionary among the Plains tribes for many years. In 1985, he was the first Native American Anglican to be designated by the Episcopal Church as a saint.
George W. Fox (1853-1886) worked as a trader with John "Jack" S. Evans at Fort Sill, Indian Territory, and became an interpreter for Comanche. From 1875 to March 1877, Fox worked with Richard H. Pratt (1840-1924) and prisoners of war from the southern plains at Fort Marion in St., Florida.
Historical Note:
Fort Marion, also known as Castillo de San Marco, is a stone fortress in St. Augustine, Florida. Between 1875 and 1878, seventy-two prisoners from the southern plains were incarcerated in the fort under supervision of Lt. Richard H. Pratt. The prisoners consisted of 27 Kiowas, 33 Cheyennes, 9 Comanches, 2 Arapahos, and a single Caddo. With the exception of one Cheyenne woman, all the prisoners were men. They had been accused of participating in the recent Red River War, earlier hostilities, or both. With the exception of the wife and daughter of one of the Comanche men, the prisoners families were not allowed to accompany them to Fort Marion.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 39B
OPPS NEG 55,047-55,068
Related Materials:
A similar book of drawings by Making Medicine containing some of the same scenes and dated July 1876 is in the collection of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Ledger drawings
Works of art
Drawings
Citation:
MS 39-b Making Medicine book of drawings, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution