Photograph: Jeff Yellowhair with Stands Like A Bear.
Winner of the Presidents Award at the 2002 American Indian Exposition.
This painting is held in a private collection in NE Oklahoma.

Biography

My Kiowa Name is Tone`-Bawt which translates to Eagle Bone Whistle in English. My people came here to live in the shadows of Mt. Scott in Southwestern Oklahoma a very long time ago.

My Great-Grandfather was Charlie Domebo. His father was Paw-to-sope and his father before him was Odle-Tahl, a Spanish captive taken in Mexico by Comanches and then traded to the Kiowas around 1834 as a small child.

In the age when millions of buffalo roamed the seas of grass, I tell my stories on canvas, taken from careful attention to my elders’ tales; their thoughts and ideas of that time in history. I also heard spiritual stories from my Grandfathers in the Native American Church ceremonies from which life’s lessons are taught.

The Great Spirit gifted me with the ability to paint without drawing and very little planning. I let Him guide my hand. I work in acrylics on canvas and masonite, but will paint on most anything. I’m also an accomplished feather worker; making fans for use in our places of worship.

My awards for painting are numerous and I understand why some people would like to hear of them, but I feel that my work speaks for itself. I trust you will understand also.

In June of 2000, I was selected for the Smithsonian Institution’s Native American Studies in New York City. I found it very enlightening to go there and be a part of something so educational.

I reside in Apache, Oklahoma with my wife and four children – still in the shadows of the Wichita Mountains.

Thank you for your patronage in the Arts of our Native People.

May the Great Spirit be with you always!

Ah-Ho (Thank you),
Jeff Yellowhair
Member of the Kiowa Nation