Susie Peters (Kiowa name: Kom-tah-gya) was an American preservationist and matron at the Anadarko Agency, who worked to promote
Kiowa artists. Born to white parents in Tennessee, she moved to
Indian Territory with her family prior to
Oklahoma becoming a state. While working as a matron for the Indian Agency, she discovered the talent of the young artists who would become known as the
Kiowa Six and introduced them to
Oscar Jacobson, director of the
University of Oklahoma's art department. She was honored by the
National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians and both adopted by the tribe and given a Kiowa name in 1954. In 1963, the Anadarko Philomathic Club created an annual art award in her name. She was inducted into the
Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in its inaugural year, 1982.
She married U.S. Deputy Marshal John Swain,[2] on April 15, 1891, in
Alex, Indian Territory.[1] The couple moved to
Purcell, Indian Territory, where she worked as a school teacher.[4] Swain was killed in a shootout over a land dispute on January 9, 1895, near Purcell[5][6] and a life-sized tribute to him was erected in the Purcell Cemetery by his wife.[7][notes 1]
On July 20, 1897, in
Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory, Swain was issued a license to marry James W. "Jim" Peters, but no marriage record was returned.[9] A second license to marry Peters was issued on October 23, 1901, and the ceremony was performed the following day in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Territory.[10][notes 2] Peters was accidentally shot by the
Ardmore, Indian Territory police chief, Buck Garrett, on March 15, 1906, while the two men were at an informal gathering. Peters died the following day and was buried in his hometown of
Newton, Kansas.[11][12][13][14]
For a brief time, Peters managed the Monarch Hotel, located at 200 E. 2nd Street in Oklahoma City.[15][16]
On June 29, 1911, she married Oscar L. Shaffer in Oklahoma City,[17] but he was also murdered.[1]
Civil service career
When she was widowed a third time, Peters went to live as among the
Kiowa in Caddo County and was hired as a field matron by the U.S. Indian Service[18][19][20] for the Anadarko Agency. Peters identified several students at
St. Patrick's Mission School with artistic talent and encouraged them to draw images representing their culture. She bought painting supplies and held informal art classes in her home[21] from around 1918. To encourage the students, which included
Spencer Asah,
James Auchiah,
Jack Hokeah,
Stephen Mopope, and
Monroe Tsatoke,[22] Peters arranged for Mrs. Willie Baze Lane, an artist from
Chickasha, Oklahoma, to give them art lessons[23] and attempted to market their work.[24] She contacted
Ponca City philanthropist and millionaire
Lew Wentz to help secure an education for the students.[18] By 1923, she negotiated with the
University of Oklahoma to help further the artists' training and in 1926, Peters had convinced
Oscar Jacobson to provide them with special courses under the direction of
Edith Mahier.[21] Asah, Hokeah, Mopope, and Tsatoke were admitted as special students and joined a short time later by Auchiah and
Lois Smokey. They would become known as the
Kiowa Six and gained international recognition for their works.[24]
She also was instrumental in mentoring
Woody Crumbo,
Potawatomi artist, whom she met during his youth while he was attending the
Chilocco Indian School.[25][26] In 1932, Peters arranged the sale of 22 of Crumbo's painting to the
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, setting his career in motion.[27][28][29] Peters continued to encourage Kiowa youth to preserve their heritage annually accompanying Kiowa dancers to programs, such as the
Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial, from the 1930s into the 1960s.[20][30] Peters worked with Laura Pedrick, niece of
Chief Lone Wolf and
Satank, to collect folklore and memorabilia of the Kiowa Tribe.[31] She served as matron of the tribe until her death on October 14, 1965, in Anadarko. She was buried in the Purcell Cemetery beside her first husband.[2]
Awards and legacy
In a ceremony held on November 12, 1954, Peters was adopted into the Kiowa tribe[20] and given the Kiowa name Kom-tah-gya.[2] That same year,[32] she was honored by the
National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians, when the Susan Peters Gallery was established in
Anadarko. She was also honored by the Anadarko Philomathic Club,[4] which created an annual art scholarship award in her name in 1963.[2] The archive which she and Pedrick created, known as the Susie Peters Collection, is housed at the Oklahoma Historical Society and played an important role as source material for the four-volume, two-book work, Kiowa Voices by Maurice Boyd (Texas Christian University Press, 1983).[33][34] Peters was one of the women inducted into the
Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in their inaugural year, 1982[35] and was one of the subjects of a play, "Jacobson and the Kiowa Five", written by Russ Tall Chief (Osage)[36] as part of the Native American New Play Festival for the Oklahoma City Theater Company.[37]
Notes
^In the early 1920s, Peters loaned the statue to the Oklahoma Historical Society. In 1959, her request to have it returned was denied.[8]
^Bork states that Susan Ryan Swain married Peters twice, having divorced him and remarried him.[1]
Bass, Jno H. (February 21, 1895).
"From Johnson". Muskogee, Oklahoma: Our Brother in Red. Retrieved 28 June 2016 – via
Newspapers.com.
Bork, June Baldwin, ed. (1974). Wayne County, Kentucky pioneers: biographical sketches and civil court records. Vol. 4. Huntington Beach, California: JB Bork.
OCLC423901887.
dAngelo, Sarah (2016).
"A Creation Story". In dAngelo, Sarah; Grijalva, Regina McManigell (eds.). The Native American New Play Festival: A Four Year Celebration. South Gate, California: NoPassport Press. pp. 5–14.
ISBN978-1-365-01825-1.
Tall Chief, Russ (2016).
"Jacobson and the Kiowa Five". In dAngelo, Sarah; Grijalva, Regina McManigell (eds.). The Native American New Play Festival: A Four Year Celebration. South Gate, California: NoPassport Press. pp. 243–367.
ISBN978-1-365-01825-1.
Wishart, David J., ed. (2011).
"Kiowa Six". Plains Humanities. University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Nebraska: Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. Archived from
the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
"1880 US Federal Census". FamilySearch. Huntsville, Tennessee: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. June 1, 1880. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
"1910 US Federal Census". FamilySearch. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. April 15, 1910. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
"1920 US Federal Census". FamilySearch. Caddo County, Oklahoma: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. June 20, 1920. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
"John Swain". FamilySearch. Purcell, Oklahoma: McClain County, Oklahoma Probate Administration records 1895-1907, Vol. A. May 15, 1899. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
"Marriage Record". FamilySearch. Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory: Logan County, Oklahoma Marriage records March 1897-March 1899, Vol. 3. July 20, 1897. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
"Marriage Record". FamilySearch. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Territory: Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Marriage records 1900-1902, Vol. 5. October 24, 1901. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
"Marriage Record". FamilySearch. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Territory: Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Marriage records 1911, Vol. 17. June 29, 1911. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
"Monarch Hotel". Vol. 4, no. 294. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Oklahoma City Daily Pointer. January 6, 1910. Retrieved 29 June 2016.