 Susette La Flesche is primarily known as Susette La Flesche Tibbles
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An example of work by Susette La Flesche
Artwork images are copyright of the artist or assignee
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Biography from AskART:
| In 1854 "Bright Eyes" or the Omaha name "Instha Theamba" was born in Bellevue, Nebraska to Joseph La Flesche "Iron Eye" or "Instramaza" (1822-1889) and Mary Gale (1829-1909) "The One Woman" or "Hinnuagsnun" from the Omaha tribe.
La Flesche was educated in the mission school until fifteen when she attended four years of college at Elizabeth, New Jersey. In 1873 she returned to teach at the reservation school. She was known for her interpretive work for the Ponca tribe in the habeas corpus case where she met her future husband, Thomas H. Tibbles. He was a reporter for a Nebraska newspaper. They married in 1882.
Susette "Bright Eyes" traveled for many years lecturing in Europe and the United States pleading the cause of the Native American. She was well received throughout the world by nobility and treasured her autograph book. One erroneously reported story was Longfellow wrote the poem originally about "Bright Eyes". The real story is upon meeting Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the author turned to the others present and said "this is Minnehaha". This simple statement opened many doors for "Bright Eyes" because of the popularity of the poem. Longfellow's poem was published in 1855 and "Bright Eyes" was born in 1854.
When she retired from public speaking "Bright Eyes" moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. She studied art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and painted many pictures "Bright Eyes" illustrated "Oo-Mah-Ha Ta-Wa-The" a book written by Fannie Reed Giffen published in 1898. The books preface reads "the illustrations are believed to be the first artistic work by an American Indian ever published".
"Bright Eyes" was the symbol of the Native American Maiden, public speaker, author, artist and defender of Native Americans. The child of "Iron Eyes" the man who said "God has given us the hands with which we can worklook back on the lives of your fathers and grandfathers; then look at yourselves and see how far you have gone ahead, and seeing this, do not stop and turn back to them, but go forward." Quote from Iron Eyes Family The Children of Joseph La Flesche by Norman Kidd Green.
(Picture of Susette La Flesche Tibblea courtesy of the Nebraska State Historical Society)
Written and submitted November 2004 by Janet G. Smith, art historian, art authenticator and independent curator
Sources include:
Green, Norman Kidd, Iron Eyes Family The Children of Joseph La Flesche, 1969, Johnsen Publishing Company, Lincoln, NE, p.214.
Bucklin, Clarissa, Nebraska Art and Artist, School of Fine Arts, 1932 The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska p 15-16
Diffendal, Anne P, Women in Nebraska History, 1984 Nebraska Department of Education, Nebraska page 216
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One of the first documented female artists in Nebraska, Susette Tibbles (also known as Yosette) was an Omaha Indian who had the English name of Bright Eyes. She was born in Bellevue and had early training at a mission school and then had college education in New Jersey. She is probably best known as an interpreter of the Ponca Indians and as a public speaker, but she was also an illustrator of books. It has been written that her illustrations are the first artistic work by an American Indian ever published.
Source:
IMPACT-THE ART OF NEBRASKA WOMEN, Dora Hagge, Editor. |
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