Fred Beaver
Encyclopedia
Fred Beaver was a prominent Muscogee Creek-Seminole painter and muralist from Oklahoma
.
. His Muscogee name was Ekalanee, meaning "Brown Head." He was the son of Willie Beaver and Annie Johnson, was raised in Eufaula, and attended the Eufaula High School. He had become the All-State football and basketball star player. His grandfather was the sub-chief of the Okfuskee town in Alabama named Itshaus Micco, and had moved his town to where Eufaula is today.
Before Beaver had attended grade school, he was not able to speak any English and became a self taught artist throughout the years of school. Graduating from high school in 1931, Beaver went straight in to college at Bacone College
. Beaver was an important part of the early Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma
. He had attended the Haskell Business College after graduating from Bacone in 1935.
Beaver really had no art training at Bacone while he was there and gave up his art career during the Great Depression
and went to serve in World War II
. Once he had returned to the United States, he picked up his art career again and had a great teacher and second cousin on his wife’s side of the family, named Acee Blue Eagle
.
's annual art competition in Tulsa, Oklahoma
and won an Honorable mention award. He helped define traditional Oklahoma Indian art with his style that he created; he started defining traditional painting of the Five Civilized Tribes
. Beaver was one of the first artists that was designated as "Master Artists" of the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. His works are included in many museums and collections, including the Heard Museum
(Phoenix, Arizona
), the Sequoyah Research Center
in Little Rock, Arkansas
, and the Philbrook Museum of Art
(Tulsa, OK).
Beaver has gone on to win many awards at the Philbrook’s annual competitions and has worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
for twenty-five years of his life. He was able to make a living off his artwork fulltime and became more aware of the detail that was put into the paintings.
The Creek and Seminole artists were starting to question the work he was doing that represented the tribes' cultures. But his work is very accurate in the images, such as chickee
s and patchwork in clothing. He has been interviewed at the University of Florida
for The Southeastern Indian Oral History
Project, which was in collaboration with the Seminole Tribe of Florida
.
Beaver designed three medallions for the Franklin Mint
's celebration of the United States Bicentennial
in 1976.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
Background
Fred Beaver was born in Eufaula, OklahomaEufaula, Oklahoma
Eufaula is a city in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,639 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McIntosh County.-Geography:Eufaula is located at ....
. His Muscogee name was Ekalanee, meaning "Brown Head." He was the son of Willie Beaver and Annie Johnson, was raised in Eufaula, and attended the Eufaula High School. He had become the All-State football and basketball star player. His grandfather was the sub-chief of the Okfuskee town in Alabama named Itshaus Micco, and had moved his town to where Eufaula is today.
Before Beaver had attended grade school, he was not able to speak any English and became a self taught artist throughout the years of school. Graduating from high school in 1931, Beaver went straight in to college at Bacone College
Bacone College
Bacone College is a private four-year liberal arts college in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Founded in 1880 as the Indian University by Almon C. Bacone, Bacone College is the oldest continuously operated institution of higher education in Oklahoma...
. Beaver was an important part of the early Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
. He had attended the Haskell Business College after graduating from Bacone in 1935.
Beaver really had no art training at Bacone while he was there and gave up his art career during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and went to serve in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Once he had returned to the United States, he picked up his art career again and had a great teacher and second cousin on his wife’s side of the family, named Acee Blue Eagle
Acee Blue Eagle
Acee Blue Eagle , also named Alex C. McIntosh, Chebon Ahbulah , and Lumhee Holot-Tee , was a Muscogee Creek-Pawnee-Wichita artist, educator, dancer, and flute player.-Background:...
.
Art career
Soon after looking for help and thinking about going back to school for art, he entered the Philbrook Museum of ArtPhilbrook Museum of Art
The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma is an art museum and former home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his wife Genevieve Phillips. , the museum has a staff of 60 and an operating budget of nearly $6 million....
's annual art competition in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
and won an Honorable mention award. He helped define traditional Oklahoma Indian art with his style that he created; he started defining traditional painting of the Five Civilized Tribes
Five Civilized Tribes
The Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good...
. Beaver was one of the first artists that was designated as "Master Artists" of the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. His works are included in many museums and collections, including the Heard Museum
Heard Museum
The Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is a museum located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. There is also the Heard Museum North Scottsdale branch in Scottsdale and the Heard Museum West branch in Surprise....
(Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
), the Sequoyah Research Center
Sequoyah Research Center
The Seqouyah National Research Center , located in Little Rock, Arkansas, is home of the American Native Press Archives . ANPA is one of the largest repositories of Native American publications in the world. The Center is also home to the J.W...
in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, and the Philbrook Museum of Art
Philbrook Museum of Art
The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma is an art museum and former home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his wife Genevieve Phillips. , the museum has a staff of 60 and an operating budget of nearly $6 million....
(Tulsa, OK).
Beaver has gone on to win many awards at the Philbrook’s annual competitions and has worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
for twenty-five years of his life. He was able to make a living off his artwork fulltime and became more aware of the detail that was put into the paintings.
The Creek and Seminole artists were starting to question the work he was doing that represented the tribes' cultures. But his work is very accurate in the images, such as chickee
Chickee
Chikee or Chickee is a shelter supported by posts, with a raised floor, a thatched roof and open sides. The chickee style of architecture — palmetto thatch over a bald cypress log frame — was adopted by Seminoles during the Second and Third Seminole War as U.S...
s and patchwork in clothing. He has been interviewed at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
for The Southeastern Indian Oral History
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...
Project, which was in collaboration with the Seminole Tribe of Florida
Seminole Tribe of Florida
The Seminole Tribe of Florida is a federally recognized Seminole tribe based in the U.S. state of Florida. Together with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, it is one of three federally recognized Seminole entities...
.
Beaver designed three medallions for the Franklin Mint
Franklin Mint
The Franklin Mint is a private corporation founded by Joseph Segel in 1964. The private mint operated from Wawa, Pennsylvania but that operation has now closed...
's celebration of the United States Bicentennial
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
in 1976.
Quote
I wanted to change the non-Indian's image of my people, and I wanted to help my own people understand themselves, especially the young.