Facing Right Hoop Dancer

Blackowl's composition capsules an individual dancer balancing two hoops.

(1911-1992) Archie Blackowl (Mis Ta Moo To Va) Flying Hawk was a Cheyenne artist born in Custer County, Oklahoma. A descendant of Roman Nose, celebrated war chief of the Cheyennes whose village was destroyed by General Custer in 1867.

Blackowl studied art at the University of Oklahoma, the University of Kansas, the Chicago Art Institute, the Rockefeller Art Center and the School of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. He studied painting under muralist Olaf Nordmark. In the early 1930's he began to paint professionally with Woody Crumbo's encouragement.

Througout his career, he was loyal to a traditional approach to Indian painting, portraying Cheyenne tradition and culture. His firsthand experiences allowed him to depict the Sun Dance, the scaffold burial, the Native American church traditions and Cheyenne family life.