THE SPIRIT OF A KIOWA ARTIST

Monroe Tsa Toke was born in 1904 near Saddle

Mountain in Oklahoma. He died in 1937.

Tsa Toke is a Kiowa name, the word meaning "Hunting

Horses." His grandmother was a captive white woman.

The tribe did not approve of such marriages and his

father was not fully taken into the tribe until later years.

Despite the strain of white blood, Tsa Toke was all

Indian in heart and mind.

His wife was of high tribal order, being the grand-

daughter on both her father's and mother's side of two

of the greatest war chiefs of the Kiowa tribe: Tsa-tanta

(White Bear) and Set-angya (Sitting Bear.)

As a small boy he attracted the attention of the teachers

in schools he attended and his father was persuaded

to send him to the College of Bacome at Musgogee,

Oklahoma. Here his talent in drawing was recognized,

but at that time Indian art was little thought of and this

part of his education was not stressed.

Around the council fires he listened to the old men tell

stories of their nomadic life, their tribal hunts, their

rituals and ceremonies steeped in tribal lore. When in

the mood, his great sense of humor was an outstanding

attribute.

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