Tsatoke, Monroe

Place: Saddle Mountain

Born: 1904

Death: 1937

Biography:

Monroe Tsatoke (1904–1937) was a Kiowa painter and a member of the Kiowa Six from Oklahoma. He was born on 29 September 1904 in Oklahoma Territory, near present-day Saddle Mountain, Oklahoma. Tsatokee, which means 'Hunting Horse', was his Kiowa name. His father was also named Tsatokee, and was a Kiowa scout. His grandmother was a European-American captive. He never received art instruction until Susan Peters, the Kiowa agency field matron, arranged for Mrs. Willie Baze Lane, an artist from Chickasha, Oklahoma, to teach painting classes for young Kiowas in Anadarko. Recognizing the talent of some of the young artists, Peters convinced Swedish-American artist, Oscar Jacobson, director of the University of Oklahoma's School of Art, to accept the Kiowa students into a special program at the school, in which they were coached and encouraged by Edith Mahier. Tsatoke took additional art classes at Bacone College and worked at Indian City USA in Anadarko as a guide. He died of tuberculosis on February 3, 1937.