Member of the Kiowa Six
Kiowa Artist Spencer Asah also known as Lallo (Little Boy) in his Kiowa language was born near Carnegie, Oklahoma. He was the son of a Buffalo Medicine Man. Consequently the atmosphere that he grew up in was full of tribal legends and rituals, the influence of which is evident in his paintings.
Additionally, Spencer Asah was a traditional singer and dancer and active in Oklahoma's powwow circuit.
Asah's father provided Spencer Asah extensive cultural information that he later used in his art.
Asah attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, where he received his first art instruction from Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw nun.
He was married to a Comanche, Ida, and had three children, Ola Mae, Ida L., and Kay, a son killed in 1953. As one of the famous early twentieth century Indian painters from Oklahoma, he used themes and images to present the culture of Kiowa dancers and images of Kiowa life.
According to Oscar Jacobson, his mentor, his role as a descendant of distinguished medicine people was as custodian to important ceremonial items, including a Kiowa calendar.
Asah's flat, two-dimensional work many times presents a profile view of a full figure. His line drawings and paintings were meticulous and exact replications of the feather work and regalia appropriate for the occasion.
His dancers are animated and show movement and are accentuated with black and white areas that enhance the forms and colors of the dancers.
Murals by Asah are found at the Oklahoma Supreme Court Building (formerly the Oklahoma Historical Society building) in Oklahoma City, at the Federal Building at Anadarko, Oklahoma, and at Fort Sill Indian School.
»——> KIOWA FIVE ARTISTS
The Kiowa Five, now increasingly known as the Kiowa Six, consisted of six individuals, Spencer Asah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Monroe Tsatoke, Lois Smoky, and James Auchiah.
The Kiowa Five were a group of painters who earned national and international acclaim during the early twentieth century.
Kiowa Field Matron Susie Peters gave Asah and other Kiowa youths art lessons while attending St. Patrick's Mission School near Anadarko and attended special art classes with other Kiowas at the University of Oklahoma during the late 1920s under the tutelage of professors Edith Mahier and Oscar Jacobson, director of the School of Art.
Spencer Asah is buried at Cache Creek Cemetery, Caddo County, Oklahoma, USA
∼Spencer Asah "Lallo," "Little Boy" was born Jan. 15, 1906 in Carnegie, Oklahoma to James Asah, aka. James Ai-Site, aka. James Asa (English last name)"Tear It up" and Nellie Hait-Shan. Spencer died May 5, 1954. Spencer Asah married a, Comanche woman, Ida Attocknie and had 3 children: Daughters, Ola Mae, Ida L. and son, Kay Asah.
Spencer Asah attended the St. Patrick's Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma where he received his first art instruction from Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw Nun. He entered into an art program at the University of Oklahoma. Spencer Asah was an active member in the Powwow Circuit. He was a singer and dancer. He was a painter and was in the Kiowa six also known as Kiowa five. His Kiowa artwork was exhibited in museums and he is known for his paintings . His paintings displayed Kiowa culture. Spencer's father was a Buffalo Medicine Man.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Oklahoma Historical Society
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
Asah, Spencer (ca. 1905-1954)
Born near Carnegie, Oklahoma, circa 1905, Spencer Asah (Lallo, Little Boy) was a grandson of a buffalo medicine man. He grew up in the western Oklahoma environment filled with Kiowa ritual and traditional history. He was married to a Comanche, Ida, and had three children, Ola Mae, Ida L. and Kay, a son killed in 1953. One of the famous early- twentieth century Indian painters from Oklahoma, he used themes and images to present the culture of Kiowa dancers and images of Kiowa life.
According to Oscar Jacobson, his mentor his role as a descendant of distinguished medicine people was as custodian to important ceremonial items, including a Kiowa calendar.
Asah attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School near Andarko, Oklahoma, where he showed talent as an artist and a love of traditional Kiowa dancing. With four other artists, he later attended painting classes at the University of Oklahoma under the direction of Edith Mayer and Oscar Jacobson. In addition to images of single figures of brilliantly colored dancers, Asah participated in painting murals in 1929 in the Memorial Chapel for Father Isidore Rocklin at St. Patrick's Mission.
Asah's flat, two dimensional work many times presents a profile view of a full figure. His line drawings and paintings were meticulous and exact replications of the feather work and regalia appropriate for the occasion. His dancers are animated and show movement and are accentuated with black and white areas that enhance the forms and colors of the dancers. Murals by Asah are found at the Oklahoma Supreme Court Building (formerly the Oklahoma Historical Society Building) in Oklahoma City, at the Federal Building at Anadarko, Oklahoma, and at Fort Sill Indian School. Asah and the four other Kiowa artists were among the first indians in Oklahoma to receive international accotades for their artistic productions. His work is represented in the Gilcroase Museum, the Philbrok Museum of Art, the museum of the American Indian in New York, and other venues. Asah died in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1954.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Oklahoma Historical Society
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
St. Patrick's Mission
Between 1875 and 1925 Catholic Mission conducted extensive mission work among American Indians on Oklahoma, though their efforts were not particularly fruitful on the long run.
Schools for indians operated at Sacred Heart
(chieftly for Potatomi, Seminole, and Sac and Fox), at Pawhuskua and Gray Horse (Osage), at Purcell, Ardmore, and Chickasha ( Chickasaw), at Myrose and Tulsa (Creek), at my Quapaw
(Quapaw), at Vinita (Cheokee), at Antlers
(Choctaw), and at Anadarko
(Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache).
The longest lived of these was St. Patrick's Mission, established near the Anadarko Agency in 1892 and operated continuously until 1966. A project of the Benedictine monks at Sacred Heart in the Potawatomi Nation, the mission was directed by Isidore Rocklin, O.S.B. (1862-1921). Born in Heidwefler, Alsace, he had been ordained at Buckfast Abbey, England, in 1889 and arrived at Sacred Heart the following year. In 1891 he was appointed to start the Anadarko mission for Kiowa and Comanche boys, the first Catholic effort on behalf of the Plain indians of Oklahoma. The mission was funded in part by St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955), a Philadelphia heiress who had become a nun and who used her great fortune to benefit American Indians and African Americans. The Franciscan sisters of Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, staffed St. Patrick's.
An adventuresome man, he enjoyed native life, Rocklin found early acceptance in the tribes to which he ministered. Ranging over a wide mission area, he also provided services to the Soilders at Fort Sill. He built the original mission complex at Anadarko and then rebuilt it after a disastrous fire in 1909. He died at Anadarko on January 13, 1921. He was succeeded by his French- born assistant, Aloysius Gotta, O.S.B. (1877-1946), who directed the institution until his own death.
Between 1911 and 1933 St. Patrick's was an official federal Indian School called Anadarko Boarding School. Priests and sisters who staffed it held civil service positions under the Department of Interior. St. Patrick's holds claim to having leading artists, including Acee Blue Eagle and Woody Crumbo.
Kiowa Artist Spencer Asah also known as Lallo (Little Boy) in his Kiowa language was born near Carnegie, Oklahoma. He was the son of a Buffalo Medicine Man. Consequently the atmosphere that he grew up in was full of tribal legends and rituals, the influence of which is evident in his paintings.
Additionally, Spencer Asah was a traditional singer and dancer and active in Oklahoma's powwow circuit.
Asah's father provided Spencer Asah extensive cultural information that he later used in his art.
Asah attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, where he received his first art instruction from Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw nun.
He was married to a Comanche, Ida, and had three children, Ola Mae, Ida L., and Kay, a son killed in 1953. As one of the famous early twentieth century Indian painters from Oklahoma, he used themes and images to present the culture of Kiowa dancers and images of Kiowa life.
According to Oscar Jacobson, his mentor, his role as a descendant of distinguished medicine people was as custodian to important ceremonial items, including a Kiowa calendar.
Asah's flat, two-dimensional work many times presents a profile view of a full figure. His line drawings and paintings were meticulous and exact replications of the feather work and regalia appropriate for the occasion.
His dancers are animated and show movement and are accentuated with black and white areas that enhance the forms and colors of the dancers.
Murals by Asah are found at the Oklahoma Supreme Court Building (formerly the Oklahoma Historical Society building) in Oklahoma City, at the Federal Building at Anadarko, Oklahoma, and at Fort Sill Indian School.
»——> KIOWA FIVE ARTISTS
The Kiowa Five, now increasingly known as the Kiowa Six, consisted of six individuals, Spencer Asah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Monroe Tsatoke, Lois Smoky, and James Auchiah.
The Kiowa Five were a group of painters who earned national and international acclaim during the early twentieth century.
Kiowa Field Matron Susie Peters gave Asah and other Kiowa youths art lessons while attending St. Patrick's Mission School near Anadarko and attended special art classes with other Kiowas at the University of Oklahoma during the late 1920s under the tutelage of professors Edith Mahier and Oscar Jacobson, director of the School of Art.
Spencer Asah is buried at Cache Creek Cemetery, Caddo County, Oklahoma, USA
∼Spencer Asah "Lallo," "Little Boy" was born Jan. 15, 1906 in Carnegie, Oklahoma to James Asah, aka. James Ai-Site, aka. James Asa (English last name)"Tear It up" and Nellie Hait-Shan. Spencer died May 5, 1954. Spencer Asah married a, Comanche woman, Ida Attocknie and had 3 children: Daughters, Ola Mae, Ida L. and son, Kay Asah.
Spencer Asah attended the St. Patrick's Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma where he received his first art instruction from Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw Nun. He entered into an art program at the University of Oklahoma. Spencer Asah was an active member in the Powwow Circuit. He was a singer and dancer. He was a painter and was in the Kiowa six also known as Kiowa five. His Kiowa artwork was exhibited in museums and he is known for his paintings . His paintings displayed Kiowa culture. Spencer's father was a Buffalo Medicine Man.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Oklahoma Historical Society
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
Asah, Spencer (ca. 1905-1954)
Born near Carnegie, Oklahoma, circa 1905, Spencer Asah (Lallo, Little Boy) was a grandson of a buffalo medicine man. He grew up in the western Oklahoma environment filled with Kiowa ritual and traditional history. He was married to a Comanche, Ida, and had three children, Ola Mae, Ida L. and Kay, a son killed in 1953. One of the famous early- twentieth century Indian painters from Oklahoma, he used themes and images to present the culture of Kiowa dancers and images of Kiowa life.
According to Oscar Jacobson, his mentor his role as a descendant of distinguished medicine people was as custodian to important ceremonial items, including a Kiowa calendar.
Asah attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School near Andarko, Oklahoma, where he showed talent as an artist and a love of traditional Kiowa dancing. With four other artists, he later attended painting classes at the University of Oklahoma under the direction of Edith Mayer and Oscar Jacobson. In addition to images of single figures of brilliantly colored dancers, Asah participated in painting murals in 1929 in the Memorial Chapel for Father Isidore Rocklin at St. Patrick's Mission.
Asah's flat, two dimensional work many times presents a profile view of a full figure. His line drawings and paintings were meticulous and exact replications of the feather work and regalia appropriate for the occasion. His dancers are animated and show movement and are accentuated with black and white areas that enhance the forms and colors of the dancers. Murals by Asah are found at the Oklahoma Supreme Court Building (formerly the Oklahoma Historical Society Building) in Oklahoma City, at the Federal Building at Anadarko, Oklahoma, and at Fort Sill Indian School. Asah and the four other Kiowa artists were among the first indians in Oklahoma to receive international accotades for their artistic productions. His work is represented in the Gilcroase Museum, the Philbrok Museum of Art, the museum of the American Indian in New York, and other venues. Asah died in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1954.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Oklahoma Historical Society
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
St. Patrick's Mission
Between 1875 and 1925 Catholic Mission conducted extensive mission work among American Indians on Oklahoma, though their efforts were not particularly fruitful on the long run.
Schools for indians operated at Sacred Heart
(chieftly for Potatomi, Seminole, and Sac and Fox), at Pawhuskua and Gray Horse (Osage), at Purcell, Ardmore, and Chickasha ( Chickasaw), at Myrose and Tulsa (Creek), at my Quapaw
(Quapaw), at Vinita (Cheokee), at Antlers
(Choctaw), and at Anadarko
(Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache).
The longest lived of these was St. Patrick's Mission, established near the Anadarko Agency in 1892 and operated continuously until 1966. A project of the Benedictine monks at Sacred Heart in the Potawatomi Nation, the mission was directed by Isidore Rocklin, O.S.B. (1862-1921). Born in Heidwefler, Alsace, he had been ordained at Buckfast Abbey, England, in 1889 and arrived at Sacred Heart the following year. In 1891 he was appointed to start the Anadarko mission for Kiowa and Comanche boys, the first Catholic effort on behalf of the Plain indians of Oklahoma. The mission was funded in part by St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955), a Philadelphia heiress who had become a nun and who used her great fortune to benefit American Indians and African Americans. The Franciscan sisters of Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, staffed St. Patrick's.
An adventuresome man, he enjoyed native life, Rocklin found early acceptance in the tribes to which he ministered. Ranging over a wide mission area, he also provided services to the Soilders at Fort Sill. He built the original mission complex at Anadarko and then rebuilt it after a disastrous fire in 1909. He died at Anadarko on January 13, 1921. He was succeeded by his French- born assistant, Aloysius Gotta, O.S.B. (1877-1946), who directed the institution until his own death.
Between 1911 and 1933 St. Patrick's was an official federal Indian School called Anadarko Boarding School. Priests and sisters who staffed it held civil service positions under the Department of Interior. St. Patrick's holds claim to having leading artists, including Acee Blue Eagle and Woody Crumbo.
Member of the Kiowa Six
Kiowa Artist Spencer Asah also known as Lallo (Little Boy) in his Kiowa language was born near Carnegie, Oklahoma. He was the son of a Buffalo Medicine Man. Consequently the atmosphere that he grew up in was full of tribal legends and rituals, the influence of which is evident in his paintings.
Additionally, Spencer Asah was a traditional singer and dancer and active in Oklahoma's powwow circuit.
Asah's father provided Spencer Asah extensive cultural information that he later used in his art.
Asah attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, where he received his first art instruction from Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw nun.
He was married to a Comanche, Ida, and had three children, Ola Mae, Ida L., and Kay, a son killed in 1953. As one of the famous early twentieth century Indian painters from Oklahoma, he used themes and images to present the culture of Kiowa dancers and images of Kiowa life.
According to Oscar Jacobson, his mentor, his role as a descendant of distinguished medicine people was as custodian to important ceremonial items, including a Kiowa calendar.
Asah's flat, two-dimensional work many times presents a profile view of a full figure. His line drawings and paintings were meticulous and exact replications of the feather work and regalia appropriate for the occasion.
His dancers are animated and show movement and are accentuated with black and white areas that enhance the forms and colors of the dancers.
Murals by Asah are found at the Oklahoma Supreme Court Building (formerly the Oklahoma Historical Society building) in Oklahoma City, at the Federal Building at Anadarko, Oklahoma, and at Fort Sill Indian School.
»——> KIOWA FIVE ARTISTS
The Kiowa Five, now increasingly known as the Kiowa Six, consisted of six individuals, Spencer Asah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Monroe Tsatoke, Lois Smoky, and James Auchiah.
The Kiowa Five were a group of painters who earned national and international acclaim during the early twentieth century.
Kiowa Field Matron Susie Peters gave Asah and other Kiowa youths art lessons while attending St. Patrick's Mission School near Anadarko and attended special art classes with other Kiowas at the University of Oklahoma during the late 1920s under the tutelage of professors Edith Mahier and Oscar Jacobson, director of the School of Art.
Spencer Asah is buried at Cache Creek Cemetery, Caddo County, Oklahoma, USA
∼Spencer Asah "Lallo," "Little Boy" was born Jan. 15, 1906 in Carnegie, Oklahoma to James Asah, aka. James Ai-Site, aka. James Asa (English last name)"Tear It up" and Nellie Hait-Shan. Spencer died May 5, 1954. Spencer Asah married a, Comanche woman, Ida Attocknie and had 3 children: Daughters, Ola Mae, Ida L. and son, Kay Asah.
Spencer Asah attended the St. Patrick's Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma where he received his first art instruction from Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw Nun. He entered into an art program at the University of Oklahoma. Spencer Asah was an active member in the Powwow Circuit. He was a singer and dancer. He was a painter and was in the Kiowa six also known as Kiowa five. His Kiowa artwork was exhibited in museums and he is known for his paintings . His paintings displayed Kiowa culture. Spencer's father was a Buffalo Medicine Man.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Oklahoma Historical Society
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
Asah, Spencer (ca. 1905-1954)
Born near Carnegie, Oklahoma, circa 1905, Spencer Asah (Lallo, Little Boy) was a grandson of a buffalo medicine man. He grew up in the western Oklahoma environment filled with Kiowa ritual and traditional history. He was married to a Comanche, Ida, and had three children, Ola Mae, Ida L. and Kay, a son killed in 1953. One of the famous early- twentieth century Indian painters from Oklahoma, he used themes and images to present the culture of Kiowa dancers and images of Kiowa life.
According to Oscar Jacobson, his mentor his role as a descendant of distinguished medicine people was as custodian to important ceremonial items, including a Kiowa calendar.
Asah attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School near Andarko, Oklahoma, where he showed talent as an artist and a love of traditional Kiowa dancing. With four other artists, he later attended painting classes at the University of Oklahoma under the direction of Edith Mayer and Oscar Jacobson. In addition to images of single figures of brilliantly colored dancers, Asah participated in painting murals in 1929 in the Memorial Chapel for Father Isidore Rocklin at St. Patrick's Mission.
Asah's flat, two dimensional work many times presents a profile view of a full figure. His line drawings and paintings were meticulous and exact replications of the feather work and regalia appropriate for the occasion. His dancers are animated and show movement and are accentuated with black and white areas that enhance the forms and colors of the dancers. Murals by Asah are found at the Oklahoma Supreme Court Building (formerly the Oklahoma Historical Society Building) in Oklahoma City, at the Federal Building at Anadarko, Oklahoma, and at Fort Sill Indian School. Asah and the four other Kiowa artists were among the first indians in Oklahoma to receive international accotades for their artistic productions. His work is represented in the Gilcroase Museum, the Philbrok Museum of Art, the museum of the American Indian in New York, and other venues. Asah died in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1954.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Oklahoma Historical Society
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
St. Patrick's Mission
Between 1875 and 1925 Catholic Mission conducted extensive mission work among American Indians on Oklahoma, though their efforts were not particularly fruitful on the long run.
Schools for indians operated at Sacred Heart
(chieftly for Potatomi, Seminole, and Sac and Fox), at Pawhuskua and Gray Horse (Osage), at Purcell, Ardmore, and Chickasha ( Chickasaw), at Myrose and Tulsa (Creek), at my Quapaw
(Quapaw), at Vinita (Cheokee), at Antlers
(Choctaw), and at Anadarko
(Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache).
The longest lived of these was St. Patrick's Mission, established near the Anadarko Agency in 1892 and operated continuously until 1966. A project of the Benedictine monks at Sacred Heart in the Potawatomi Nation, the mission was directed by Isidore Rocklin, O.S.B. (1862-1921). Born in Heidwefler, Alsace, he had been ordained at Buckfast Abbey, England, in 1889 and arrived at Sacred Heart the following year. In 1891 he was appointed to start the Anadarko mission for Kiowa and Comanche boys, the first Catholic effort on behalf of the Plain indians of Oklahoma. The mission was funded in part by St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955), a Philadelphia heiress who had become a nun and who used her great fortune to benefit American Indians and African Americans. The Franciscan sisters of Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, staffed St. Patrick's.
An adventuresome man, he enjoyed native life, Rocklin found early acceptance in the tribes to which he ministered. Ranging over a wide mission area, he also provided services to the Soilders at Fort Sill. He built the original mission complex at Anadarko and then rebuilt it after a disastrous fire in 1909. He died at Anadarko on January 13, 1921. He was succeeded by his French- born assistant, Aloysius Gotta, O.S.B. (1877-1946), who directed the institution until his own death.
Between 1911 and 1933 St. Patrick's was an official federal Indian School called Anadarko Boarding School. Priests and sisters who staffed it held civil service positions under the Department of Interior. St. Patrick's holds claim to having leading artists, including Acee Blue Eagle and Woody Crumbo.
Kiowa Artist Spencer Asah also known as Lallo (Little Boy) in his Kiowa language was born near Carnegie, Oklahoma. He was the son of a Buffalo Medicine Man. Consequently the atmosphere that he grew up in was full of tribal legends and rituals, the influence of which is evident in his paintings.
Additionally, Spencer Asah was a traditional singer and dancer and active in Oklahoma's powwow circuit.
Asah's father provided Spencer Asah extensive cultural information that he later used in his art.
Asah attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, where he received his first art instruction from Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw nun.
He was married to a Comanche, Ida, and had three children, Ola Mae, Ida L., and Kay, a son killed in 1953. As one of the famous early twentieth century Indian painters from Oklahoma, he used themes and images to present the culture of Kiowa dancers and images of Kiowa life.
According to Oscar Jacobson, his mentor, his role as a descendant of distinguished medicine people was as custodian to important ceremonial items, including a Kiowa calendar.
Asah's flat, two-dimensional work many times presents a profile view of a full figure. His line drawings and paintings were meticulous and exact replications of the feather work and regalia appropriate for the occasion.
His dancers are animated and show movement and are accentuated with black and white areas that enhance the forms and colors of the dancers.
Murals by Asah are found at the Oklahoma Supreme Court Building (formerly the Oklahoma Historical Society building) in Oklahoma City, at the Federal Building at Anadarko, Oklahoma, and at Fort Sill Indian School.
»——> KIOWA FIVE ARTISTS
The Kiowa Five, now increasingly known as the Kiowa Six, consisted of six individuals, Spencer Asah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Monroe Tsatoke, Lois Smoky, and James Auchiah.
The Kiowa Five were a group of painters who earned national and international acclaim during the early twentieth century.
Kiowa Field Matron Susie Peters gave Asah and other Kiowa youths art lessons while attending St. Patrick's Mission School near Anadarko and attended special art classes with other Kiowas at the University of Oklahoma during the late 1920s under the tutelage of professors Edith Mahier and Oscar Jacobson, director of the School of Art.
Spencer Asah is buried at Cache Creek Cemetery, Caddo County, Oklahoma, USA
∼Spencer Asah "Lallo," "Little Boy" was born Jan. 15, 1906 in Carnegie, Oklahoma to James Asah, aka. James Ai-Site, aka. James Asa (English last name)"Tear It up" and Nellie Hait-Shan. Spencer died May 5, 1954. Spencer Asah married a, Comanche woman, Ida Attocknie and had 3 children: Daughters, Ola Mae, Ida L. and son, Kay Asah.
Spencer Asah attended the St. Patrick's Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma where he received his first art instruction from Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw Nun. He entered into an art program at the University of Oklahoma. Spencer Asah was an active member in the Powwow Circuit. He was a singer and dancer. He was a painter and was in the Kiowa six also known as Kiowa five. His Kiowa artwork was exhibited in museums and he is known for his paintings . His paintings displayed Kiowa culture. Spencer's father was a Buffalo Medicine Man.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Oklahoma Historical Society
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
Asah, Spencer (ca. 1905-1954)
Born near Carnegie, Oklahoma, circa 1905, Spencer Asah (Lallo, Little Boy) was a grandson of a buffalo medicine man. He grew up in the western Oklahoma environment filled with Kiowa ritual and traditional history. He was married to a Comanche, Ida, and had three children, Ola Mae, Ida L. and Kay, a son killed in 1953. One of the famous early- twentieth century Indian painters from Oklahoma, he used themes and images to present the culture of Kiowa dancers and images of Kiowa life.
According to Oscar Jacobson, his mentor his role as a descendant of distinguished medicine people was as custodian to important ceremonial items, including a Kiowa calendar.
Asah attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School near Andarko, Oklahoma, where he showed talent as an artist and a love of traditional Kiowa dancing. With four other artists, he later attended painting classes at the University of Oklahoma under the direction of Edith Mayer and Oscar Jacobson. In addition to images of single figures of brilliantly colored dancers, Asah participated in painting murals in 1929 in the Memorial Chapel for Father Isidore Rocklin at St. Patrick's Mission.
Asah's flat, two dimensional work many times presents a profile view of a full figure. His line drawings and paintings were meticulous and exact replications of the feather work and regalia appropriate for the occasion. His dancers are animated and show movement and are accentuated with black and white areas that enhance the forms and colors of the dancers. Murals by Asah are found at the Oklahoma Supreme Court Building (formerly the Oklahoma Historical Society Building) in Oklahoma City, at the Federal Building at Anadarko, Oklahoma, and at Fort Sill Indian School. Asah and the four other Kiowa artists were among the first indians in Oklahoma to receive international accotades for their artistic productions. His work is represented in the Gilcroase Museum, the Philbrok Museum of Art, the museum of the American Indian in New York, and other venues. Asah died in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1954.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Oklahoma Historical Society
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
St. Patrick's Mission
Between 1875 and 1925 Catholic Mission conducted extensive mission work among American Indians on Oklahoma, though their efforts were not particularly fruitful on the long run.
Schools for indians operated at Sacred Heart
(chieftly for Potatomi, Seminole, and Sac and Fox), at Pawhuskua and Gray Horse (Osage), at Purcell, Ardmore, and Chickasha ( Chickasaw), at Myrose and Tulsa (Creek), at my Quapaw
(Quapaw), at Vinita (Cheokee), at Antlers
(Choctaw), and at Anadarko
(Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache).
The longest lived of these was St. Patrick's Mission, established near the Anadarko Agency in 1892 and operated continuously until 1966. A project of the Benedictine monks at Sacred Heart in the Potawatomi Nation, the mission was directed by Isidore Rocklin, O.S.B. (1862-1921). Born in Heidwefler, Alsace, he had been ordained at Buckfast Abbey, England, in 1889 and arrived at Sacred Heart the following year. In 1891 he was appointed to start the Anadarko mission for Kiowa and Comanche boys, the first Catholic effort on behalf of the Plain indians of Oklahoma. The mission was funded in part by St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955), a Philadelphia heiress who had become a nun and who used her great fortune to benefit American Indians and African Americans. The Franciscan sisters of Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, staffed St. Patrick's.
An adventuresome man, he enjoyed native life, Rocklin found early acceptance in the tribes to which he ministered. Ranging over a wide mission area, he also provided services to the Soilders at Fort Sill. He built the original mission complex at Anadarko and then rebuilt it after a disastrous fire in 1909. He died at Anadarko on January 13, 1921. He was succeeded by his French- born assistant, Aloysius Gotta, O.S.B. (1877-1946), who directed the institution until his own death.
Between 1911 and 1933 St. Patrick's was an official federal Indian School called Anadarko Boarding School. Priests and sisters who staffed it held civil service positions under the Department of Interior. St. Patrick's holds claim to having leading artists, including Acee Blue Eagle and Woody Crumbo.
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