Mary "Te Ata" Thompson Fisher

Mary "Te Ata" Thompson Fisher (1895 - 1995), whose name means "Bearer of the Morning," was born December 3, 1895, near current-day Emet, Oklahoma. A citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, Te Ata was an accomplished storyteller and actress. She received her early education in Tishomingo, and later went to the Oklahoma College for Women. While there, it was evident Te Ata had a natural talent for drama.

Her career as a storyteller and actress spanned more than 60 years. She worked as a storyteller to finance her acting career. She would share Chickasaw and other First American stories while performing them in native regalia. Te Ata attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for one year. From there, she moved to New York City, where she met and married Clyde Fisher. During the 1930s she performed at summer camps in New York and New England.

In the prime of her career, she performed in England and Scandinavia, at the White House for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, for the King and Queen of Great Britain, and on stages across the United States. Although Te Ata worked as an actress and drama instructor, she is best known for her artistic interpretations of First American stories, and for her children's book she co-authored on the subject.

Her world-renowned talent earned her several honors including induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1957, named The Ladies' Home Journal Woman of the Year in 1976, named Oklahoma's Official State Treasure in 1987, and having a lake near Bear Mountain in New York named in her honor. She is also the subject of a video, God's Drum, the proceeds of which have supported the Te Ata Scholarship Fund for First American students at her alma mater, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha, Oklahoma (formerly known as the Oklahoma College for Women). Te Ata died Oct. 26, 1995, in Oklahoma City, though her legacy and influence on the First American storytelling traditions continue to this day.