Te Ata

"In 1987, Te Ata (1895-1995) became the first person ever declared an "Oklahoma Treasure." Throughout a sixty-year career, her performances of American Indian folklore enchanted a wide variety of audiences, from European royalty to Americans of all ages, and Indians across the American continents from Canada to Peru.". "Richard Green sets the story of Te Ata against the historical, political, economic, and social upheavals of the Dawes Act, the federal government's allotment program designed to abolish tribal governments and assimilate the Chickasaw and other Indian tribes into the American…