Lighting Pathways

Lighting Pathways: Matriarchs of Oklahoma Native American Art

February 16–April 28, 2024

National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
1700 NE 63rd St, Oklahoma City, OK 73111 | Map

Artists

1. Mary Adair (Cherokee Nation)
2. Sharron Ahtone Harjo (Kiowa)
3. Adeline “Allie” Chaddlesone (Kootenai Tribe of Idaho)
4. Ruthe Blalock Jones (Shawnee/Delaware/Peoria)
5. Brenda Kennedy (Citizen Potawatomi)
6. Jane Osti (Cherokee Nation)
7. Virginia Stroud (Keetoowah Cherokee/Muscogee)

Curator Presentations

• Friday, March 22, 12:30–1:15 pm,
  Lighting Pathways: Seven Oklahoma Native Women Artists
  Discussion with Sharron Ahtone Harjo (Kiowa) and America Meredith delving into the biographies and art careers of the participating artists
• Sunday, March 23, 12:30–1:15 pm
  “Early Oklahoma Native Women Painters:
  Historical Overview”
  America Meredith provides a broader look at early Native women painters in Indian Territory and Oklahoma

Artist Roundtable Discussion

• Monday, April 1, 2024, 6:00 – 8:00 pm | Register for free
  With Jane Osti (Cherokee Nation), Sharron Ahtone Harjo (Kiowa), Ruthe Blalock Jones (Shawnee/Delaware/Peoria), and Allie Chaddlesone (Kootenai). Moderated by America Meredith (Cherokee Nation)

The Oklahoma Native art scene of the 1970s through 1990s was energetic, sometimes excessive, and marked by rapid changes. In this heyday, the Lighting Pathways artists in carved spaces for themselves and others. From diverse tribes, these seven women overcame challenges—difficult to imagine today—to forge successful careers in the late 20th-century art world. Drawing from cultural symbolism and stories, they each added their own visions to convey Native identity, issues, history, and worldviews to Native and non-Native audiences. While Native American women have painted and sculpted for millennia, the mainstream art world has not always recognized their accomplishments. These women made their voices heard.

Co-curators: Tahnee Ahtone (Kiowa/Seminole/Mvskoki) and America Meredith (Cherokee Nation)

Thanks to the seven artists and Eric Singleton, facilitator and NCWHM curator of ethnology. Thanks to those who loaned their art: Bill Wiggins and J.W.W. Wiggins Native American Art Collection at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock; the Red Earth Center in Oklahoma City, OK; the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Cherokee Reservation; Ken Fergeson; Mary Ellen Meredith; Jace and Laura Weaver; Barbara Harjo; Gary and Elizabeth Farris; Douglas and Sharilyn Young; Chris Greever, and Linda Greever, and the Tulsa Indian Art Market. Special thanks to Sandra and Hayla Parker Fields (Comanche/Cherokee/Wichita/Kiowa) for assisting with video edits.

Press

• “‘Lighting Pathways: Matriarchs of Oklahoma Native Art’ spotlights on women trailblazers,” Cherokee Phoenix, February 16, 2024 | link
• “‘Lighting Pathways’: National Cowboy Museum spotlighting ‘Matriarchs of Oklahoma Native Art,” by Brandy McDonnell, The Oklahoman, April 15, 2024 | link
• “Meet the Matriarchs of Oklahoma Native Art,” by Chadd Scott, Medicine Man Gallery, March 13, 2024 | link
• “Sneak Peek: 2 New Exhibitions at National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum,” News 9, February 16, 2024 | link
• “There’s always something new at The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum,” by Elaine Warner, Norman Transcript, March 3, 2024| link

Links

• Lighting Pathways, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
• Red Earth Festival, March 22–24 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
• J.W. Wiggins Native American Art Collection, University of Arkansas–Little Rock
• Oklahoma Indian Women and Their Art (1993), dissertation by Mary Jo Watson, PhD
• Artist links:
  • Mary Adair | OSU Oral History | Wiki | Facebook
  • Sharron Ahtone Harjo | OSU Oral History | Wiki | Blogspot
  • Allie Chaddlesone | OSU Oral History | Facebook
  • Ruthe Blalock Jones | Wiki | website
  • Brenda Kennedy | OSU Oral History | NAARCO
  • Jane Osti  | OSU Oral History | Wiki | Instagram | Spider Gallery
  • Virginia Stroud | Wiki | Art in Embassies