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SPEAKER_00: This episode of Womanica is brought to you by BetterHelp. As an entrepreneur, one of the most impactful things I've learned is how important it is to have a strong support system. Sometimes we all need some help and someone to talk to who's professionally trained to listen. That's where BetterHelp comes in. It's not a crisis line, it's not self help. It's professional counseling done securely online. I wanna help you start living a happier life today. As a Womanica listener, you'll get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at betterhelp.com slash EW. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P, dot com slash EW. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is Womanica. Today we're talking about a Chickasaw woman who became a renowned actor and performer, bringing the stories, traditions, and dances of native peoples to the world. Meet Mary Thompson Fisher, better known as Teyatta. Teyatta was born Mary Frances Thompson on December 3rd, 1895 to Birdie and Thomas Thompson. Birdie described it as the coldest night she had ever experienced. Mary's mother was a white woman and her father was a member of the Chickasaw Nation. He served as the last treasurer of the Chickasaw Nation before Oklahoma gained statehood and he also ran a general store. Thomas's feet were always in two worlds, the world of the Chickasaw and the world of white people. This informed how he raised his children in Tijmingo. When Mary was a child, Thomas would tell her and her siblings stories of their people. These stories left her enraptured. She would write down every bit she learned from him. But like many tribal members of his time, Thomas was forced to try to fit in with white society. So Teyatta wasn't exposed to much of her heritage or language as a Chickasaw citizen. Thomas taught Mary to count to 10 in Chickasaw but refused to teach her anymore. As a child, Mary was tall for her age. She was athletic and graceful, high strung and curious. Her mother once said, "'Mary never walks but she runs "'and never steps but she jumps.'" Mary was particularly fascinated by a big elm tree near her house. She would climb the tree and leap from limb to limb, much to her mother's dismay. Sometimes she'd sit up on a branch alone and take in the view. Mary attended a Chickasaw boarding school and then went to a public high school. During her senior year, she had a history teacher who was also a native woman, a daughter of a former Choctaw chief. It was in that teacher's class that Mary later said that Mary felt, for the first time, the stirrings of ambition. Mary was inspired to get a higher education too. At first, she wanted to study forestry. She loved the trees and the woods, but her father wasn't happy with either of these ambitions. He felt it wasn't proper for a young lady. Eventually, he relented and the family saved up so that Mary could enroll in the Oklahoma College for Women in 1915. There, she met Frances Davis, a woman who was teaching drama and expression. Frances took a special interest in Mary and vice versa. Again, Mary was inspired and studied theater. When she began performing, she started using the name Te Ata, which modern Chickasaw speakers say has no meaning, but Mary said meant bearer of the dawn. In school, she would tell the stories she'd learned from her father to her classmates, though she never quite knew their origins. Her father didn't feel it was important to trace these stories back. Instead, he felt the importance of knowing why the story was created in the first place and why it stuck around. Te Ata was the first native woman to graduate from Oklahoma College for Women. Then, she set her sights on New York City. She moved there in 1922 and faced challenges from the beginning. Despite her theatrical training, she often felt overlooked at auditions. She made money performing folklore for society women and doing odd jobs. She also traveled with the Chautauqua Circuit, which brought adult education courses around the country. Te Ata eventually did get cast in parts on Broadway. She's best known for her role in Trojan Women, but she decided to change course. She had been studying ethnology and learning more about indigenous stories and histories from around the world. Te Ata decided to expand her folklore performances to interpret these stories, educate children, and to present the beauty and wisdom of native culture. She performed at summer camps in New York State and around the Northeast. And in the early 1930s, she sailed to the United Kingdom, where she performed on the radio, on stage, and in private residences. In the late 1920s, Te Ata met Clyde Fisher. They married in 1933. Clyde was a naturalist and the curator of education and astronomy at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. Te Ata would accompany him on trips around the world. In 1933, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt invited Te Ata to perform at the White House for the British Prime Minister. It was such an enjoyable performance that Te Ata was invited to the Roosevelt's home to perform for the President and the King and Queen of England in 1939. The Roosevelts even named Lake Te Ata in New York's Harriman State Park in her honor. Clyde, who was almost 20 years older than Te Ata, died on January 7th, 1949. After her husband's death, Te Ata visited Central America and kept up her travel performances well into old age. At the age of 92 in 1987, Te Ata was named Oklahoma's first state treasure. Te Ata died in Oklahoma on October 20th, 1995, a little more than a month before what would have been her 100th birthday. Her life has inspired films, books, and theater productions, and her stories have continued to influence generations. All month, we're honoring the legacies of indigenous women. Find us on Facebook and Instagram, at Womanika Podcast. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow.
SPEAKER_03: WomanikaPodcast.com.
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