Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
.Lester, 557
Background
Johnny Moore Tiger Jr. was born on February 13, 1940 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. His parents were Lucinda Lou Lewis and the John M. Tiger. His younger brother, the late
Jerome Tiger
Jerome Richard Tiger (July 8, 1941 – August 13, 1967) was a Muscogee Creek-Seminole painting, painter from Oklahoma."Tiger, Jerome Richard (1941–1967). ''Oklahoma History Center's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved August 12, 2015. As a child, he traveled with his grandfather Rev. Coleman Lewis, a well known Baptist missionary within the Muscogee Creek Nation. While traveling, Coleman taught his grandson the history and cosmology of their people in the
Mvskoke
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsDana Tiger.
He attended Chilocco Indian School and graduated from Muskogee Central High School in 1958. After graduation, he served in the United States Air Force.
hot rod
Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...
s but moved towards fine arts. His paintings illustrated the
oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...
of his tribes, and he painted scenes such as a tribal gathering,
stomp dance
The stomp dance is performed by various Eastern Woodland tribes and Native American communities in the United States, including the Muscogee, Yuchi, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Delaware, Miami, Caddo, Tuscarora, Ottawa, Quapaw, Peoria, Shaw ...
s, or medicine men healing the sick, based on his own experiences.
In 1959, he enrolled at Bacone College in
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...
David E. Williams
David Emmett Williams (Tonkawa name: Tosque; August 20, 1933 – November 8, 1985) was a Native American painter, who was Kiowa/Tonkawa/ Kiowa-Apache from Oklahoma. He studied with Dick West (Southern Cheyenne) at Bacone College and won numerou ...
and Joan Hill. After winning numerous major art awards by the late 1970s, he became a full-time artist. The
Five Civilized Tribes Museum
The Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma, showcases the art, history, and culture of the so-called " Five Civilized Tribes": the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole tribes. Housed in the historic Union I ...
declared Johnny a Master Artist in 1982.
Tiger was also a well-known sculptor. He received many major awards and produced several bronze pieces.
Death
Johnny Tiger Jr. died on August 5, 2015. Funeral services were held at the First Baptist Church in
Eufaula, Oklahoma
Eufaula is a city and county seat of McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,813 at the 2010 census, an increase of 6.6 percent from 2,639 in 2000. Eufaula is in the southern part of the county, north of McAlester and ...
, and he was interred at the Greenwood Cemetery in Eufaula.
* Lester, Patrick D. ''The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995. .
* Wyckoff, Lydia L., ed. ''Visions and Voices: Native American Painting from the Philbrook Museum of Art''. Tulsa, OK: Philbrook Museum of Art, 1996. .