Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Image Not Available for James Auchiah
James Auchiah
Image Not Available for James Auchiah

James Auchiah

Kiowa, 1906-1974
BiographyJames Auchiah (1906–1974) was a Kiowa painter and one of the Kiowa Five from Oklahoma.

James Auchiah was born on 17 November 1906 in Oklahoma Territory, near present day Meers and Medicine Park, Oklahoma. His Kiowa name was Tsekoyate, meaning "Big Bow". His father was Mark Auchiah, and his grandfathers were Chief Satanta and Red Tipi, a medicine man, bundle keeper and ledger artist, respectively.

Auchiah first studied art at St. Patrick's Indian Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, under Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw nun. His love for art was such that in elementary school, he was caught painting in class. As a punishment, the teacher made him finish his painting instead of eating dinner. The field matron for the Kiowa agency, Susan Peters arranged for Mrs. Willie Baze Lane, an artist from Chickasha, Oklahoma to provide further art instruction for the young Indians, including Auchiah. 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.

The Kiowa Five's first major breakthrough into international fine art world was 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 prints and artists' paintings, to be published in France.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Auchiah painted murals at the Oklahoma Historical Society, St. Patrick's Mission School, and the United States Department of the Interior.

As his art progressed, he incorporated more imagery from the Native American Church, of which he was a leader. His work became more stylized, symbolic, and visionary.

He joined the US Coast Guard during World War II. Later he taught art and was an illustrator for the US Department of the Interior. Auchiah also worked at the US Army Artillery and Missile Center Museum in Fort Sill, Oklahoma and was a curator there.

Person TypeIndividual