Lee Monett Tsatoke, Sr


Birth: Mar. 21, 1929 Mountain View, Kiowa County, Oklahoma, USA
Death: Dec. 5, 1985, Carnegie, Caddo County, Oklahoma, USA

The Carnegie Herald, Wed., Dec. 11, 1985
Lee Monett Tsatoke, Sr., Son of the famous Monroe, Tsatoke.
Lee Monett Tsatoke, Sr., of Anadarko passed away Thursday, December 5, in the Carnegie Nursing Home at the age of 56 years old.
He was born March 21, 1929 south of Mountain View. He married Donna Jean Moppope on November 27, 1948 in Chickasha.
Graveside services were held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, December 7, at the Cedar Creek Cemetery under the direction of Smith Funeral Chapel of Anadarko. A prayer service was was held at 7 p.m. Friday evening at the Smith Funeral Chapel.
Officiating at the service was the Rev. Nick Quoetone and assisted by the Rev. Melton Otis.
Survivors include his wife, Donna, of the home; one son, Lee Monett Tsatoke, Jr. of Anadarko; eight daughters, Anna Mae Tsatoke, Martha Cable and Lois Parker, all of Anadarko, Sharon K. Gfitts, Rita Tsatoke and Jewel Tsatoke, all of Tulsa, LaQuinta Tsatoke of Norman, LaDonna Silverhorn of Ardmore; and 16 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother and two sisters.
Burial: Cedar Creek Cemetery, Carnegie, Caddo County, Oklahoma, USA

About Monroe Tsatoke:

Monroe Tsatoke 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.[2]
Tsatoke 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.[3]


Kiowa Five
The Kiowa Five included six artists: Spencer Asah, James Auchiah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Lois Smoky, and Monroe Tsatoke. James Auchiah was the last to join the group at OU in 1926.[3]
The Kiowa Five's first major breakthrough into the international fine arts world occurred at the 1928 First International Art Exposition in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Dr. Jacobson arranged for their work to be shown in several other countries and for Kiowa Art, a portfolio of pochoir print artists' paintings, to be published in France.[3]


Individual pursuits
Tsatoke took additional art classes at Bacone College and worked at Indian City USA in Anadarko as a guide.[2]
In 1924, Tsatoke married Martha Kooma. The couple had four children; Jewell, Lee Monette, Ross Maker, and John Thomas. Lee Tsatoke also became a respected Kiowa artist.[1] Monroe and Martha lived in Red Rock, Oklahoma. Besides painting, Tsatoke also farmed, sang at Kiowa ceremonials and participated in fancy war dance.[2]
He was diagnosed with tuberculosis and joined the Native American Church. He painted about his religious experiences and is credited with creating stylized representations of symbols associated with the Church, such as the water, birds, and feathers.[4]