James Auchiah (1906–1974) was a

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...

painter and one of the

Kiowa Six The Kiowa Six, previously known as the Kiowa Five, is a group of six Kiowa artists from Oklahoma in the early 20th century, working in the "Kiowa style". The artists were Spencer Asah, James Auchiah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Monroe Tsatoke and L ...

from Oklahoma.Watson, Mary Jo
Auchiah, James (1906-1974)
''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' (28 April 2009)

Early life

James Auchiah was born on 17 November 1906 in Oklahoma Territory, near present-day Meers and Medicine Park, Oklahoma. His Kiowa name was Tsekoyate, meaning "Big Bow".Reno, 13 His father was Mark Auchiah, and his grandfathers were Chief Satanta and Red Tipi, a medicine man, bundle keeper and

ledger artist Ledger art is a term for narrative drawing or painting on paper or cloth, predominantly practiced by Plains Indians, Plains Indian, but also from the Indigenous peoples of the Plateau, Plateau and Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin, Great Basi ...

,Lester, 30 respectively. Auchiah was a student in government schools, where he was not supported in learning about his Kiowas culture. In 1890 the tribe was forcibly not allowed by the white soldiers to perform the Sun Dance, which is their most spiritual dance. Afterwards the tribe did not try to perform the dance. Auchiah first studied art at St. Patrick's Indian Mission School in

Anadarko, Oklahoma Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is fifty miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County. History Anadarko got its name when its post of ...

, under Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw nun. His love for art was such that in elementary school, he was caught painting in class. As punishment, the teacher made him finish his painting instead of eating dinner. The young Auchiah said in response that was fine with him, "I would rather paint than eat."Jacobson House Native Art Center: About the Kiowa Six
''Jacobson House.'' (21 July 2020) The skills of several young Kiowa living near Anadarko, Oklahoma had caught the eye of a government field matron, Susan Peters, in 1920. She noticed the artistic talent of Kiowa children and teens as they drew sketches on feed bags while waiting for their parents receiving rations at the government Kiowa field office. Susan Peters arranged for four young Kiowa, later adding a fifth student, James Auchiah, in helping them enter art classes at the University of Oklahoma. Peters arranged for Mrs. Willie Baze Lane, an artist from

Chickasha, Oklahoma Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,036 at the 2010 census. Chickasha is home to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The city is named for and strongly connecte ...

to provide further art instruction for the young Indians, including Auchiah. Recognizing the talent of some of the young artists, Peters convinced Swedish-American artist,

Oscar Jacobson Oscar Brousse Jacobson (May 16, 1882 – September 15, 1966) was a Swedish-born American painter and museum curator. From 1915 to 1945, he was the director of the University of Oklahoma's School of Art, later known as the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of ...

, director of the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

's School of Art, to accept the Kiowa students into a special program at the school.Pochoir prints of ledger drawings by the Kiowa Five, 1929.
''Smithsonian Institution Research Information System.'' (retrieved 24 April 2009) They were coached and encouraged by Edith Mahier.

Kiowa Six

The

, included six artists: Spencer Asah, James Auchiah,

Jack Hokeah Jack Hokeah (December 4, 1901 - December 14, 1969) was a Kiowa painter, one of the Kiowa Six, from Oklahoma. Early life Jack Hokeah was born in 1901 in western Oklahoma.Lester, 239 He was orphaned at a very young age and raised by his grandmother ...

, Stephen Mopope,

Lois Smoky Kaulaity Lois Smoky Kaulaity (1907–1981) was a Kiowa beadwork artist and a painter, one of the Kiowa Six, from Oklahoma.Watson, Mary JoSmoky, Lois (1907-1981) ''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' (5 May 2009) ...

and Monroe Tsatoke. James Auchiah was the last to join the group at OU in 1926. The Kiowa Six's first major breakthrough in the international fine art world was the 1928 First International Art Exposition in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Czechoslovakia. In January 1927 Dr. Oscar B. Jacobson, Director of the School of Art at the University of Oklahoma, invited Spencer Asah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Louise Smoky Kaulaity, Monroe Tsatoke, and, later, James Auchiah to live in Norman so that he could instruct them. With Jacobson's support they improved their skills while keeping their own unique style. Jacobson organized an exhibit of their art at the University and afterwards their art was shown outside the University. Their art then gained national attention in November 1927 at the convention of the American Federation of Arts. Afterwards they traveled around the nation exhibiting their art gaining more notice from art critics. In 1928 their art was shown at an art festival in Prague, Czechoslovakia. The Kiowa paintings become a popular attraction internationally. By the 1930s many of the Kiowa painters were commissioned to paint for several occasions.

Sun Dance

The last Sun Dance took place on the Washita River above Rainy Mountain Creek in 1887. The Sun Dance is a sacred dance for the Kiowa, especially when the Dance involved the Sun Dance Doll, Tai-Me. Tai-Me characterized the most powerful medicine and symbolized a Kiowa's spiritual well being. The final time Tai-Me was represented in the dance was in 1887, the last time the dance took place.

Grandfather's burial

Jame's grandfather, chief Satanta, was arrested with another chief during a wagon train raid on May 18, 1871. The two chiefs were sentenced to death by hanging, but only through the intervention of Indian officials, they were sentenced to life in prison. In 1873 the two chiefs gained parole and were released from prison. in 1874 during the Red River War chief Satanta was arrested again. He was in prison for four years until he learned that he would not gain parole again and committed suicide. He was buried by convicts in the prison cemetery. James and his family were allowed to remove Satanta's remains eighty-five years after his death and after a long legal battle. This was a great victory for the family. They were able to move the great chief from his dishonorable grave to a more honored one. Before Satanta was laid to rest in his grave, James performed a Kiowa ceremony. During the ceremony cedar dust and gray granite dust was sprinkled on the fire built at the end of the chief's gave. This assured that chief Satanta would have a joyful journey to his new resting place.

Individual pursuits

During the 1920s and 1930s, Auchiah painted murals at the

Oklahoma Historical Society The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. ...

, St. Patrick's Mission School, and the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

. As his art progressed, he incorporated more imagery from the

Native American Church The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The ...

, of which he was a leader. His work became more stylized, symbolic, and visionary. He joined the US Coast Guard during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Later he taught art and was an illustrator for the US Department of the Interior. Auchiah also worked at the US Army Artillery and Missile Center Museum in

Fort Sill, Oklahoma Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

and was a curator there.

Public collections

Auchiah's work can be found in the following public art collections: *Anadarko City Museum * Castillo de San Marcos National Monument * Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art *

Gilcrease Museum Gilcrease Museum, also known as the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, is a museum northwest of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma housing the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art of the American West, as well as a gro ...

*Indian Arts and Crafts Board, US Department of the Interior *

The George Gustav Heye Center The National Museum of the American Indian–New York, the George Gustav Heye Center, is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Manhattan, New York City. The museum is part of the Sm ...

McNay Art Museum The McNay Art Museum, founded in 1954 in San Antonio, is the first modern art museum in the U.S. state of Texas. The museum was created by Marion Koogler McNay's original bequest of most of her fortune, her important art collection and her 24-room ...

Museum of New Mexico The Museum of New Mexico is a collection of museums, historic sites, and archaeological services governed by the State of New Mexico. It currently consists of six divisions : the Palace of the Governors state history museum, the New Mexico Museum o ...

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

*Oklahoma Science and Art Foundation, Gerrer Collection *

Philbrook Museum of Art Philbrook Museum of Art is an art museum with expansive formal gardens located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum, which opened in 1939, is located in a former 1920s villa, "Villa Philbrook", the home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his ...

*US Army Artillery and Missile Center Museum

Death

Auchiah died in

Carnegie, Oklahoma Carnegie is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,723 at the 2010 census, a 1.7 percent decline from the figure of 1,752 in 2000. History and culture Carnegie was named after the famous Scottish American philant ...

on 28 December 1974, although it is sometimes listed as being in 1975.James Auchiah (1906-1975).
''AskArt'' (retrieved 28 April 2009)

Notes

References

*Lester, Patrick D. ''The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995. . *Reno, Dawn. ''Contemporary Native American Artists''. Brooklyn, NY: Alliance Publishing, 1995. . *Swan, Daniel C. ''Peyote Religious Art: Symbols and Faith and Belief.'' Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 1999. . *Wyckoff, Lydia L., ed. ''Visions and Voices: Native American Painting from the Philbrook Museum of Art''. Tulsa, OK: Philbrook Museum of Art, 1996. .

External links

Jacobson House Native Art Center: About the Kiowa Six

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auchiah, James Kiowa people Native American painters Artists from Oklahoma People from Comanche County, Oklahoma 1974 deaths Native American Church 1906 births People from Anadarko, Oklahoma Section of Painting and Sculpture artists