Artist and Ohio resident Suzanne Chouteau became a citizen of The Shawnee Tribe as an adult.
This episode profiles Chouteau and highlights how citizens of federally recognized tribes living in diaspora in their homelands are reconnecting with their heritage.
This month, Chouteau will retire from teaching printmaking, graphic design, and art history at Xavier University in Cincinnati. She said her art reflects the brilliance and struggles of her Shawnee ancestors.
Chouteau's “In Perspective” exhibition is on display at Xavier University’s A.B. Cohen Center from Friday, Aug. 23, through Friday, Sept. 20.
As Chouteau said in this episode, her family is deeply connected to the arts. Chouteau's first cousin, “once removed,” is the Shawnee ballerina Yvonne Chouteau, the youngest known dancer in history to turn professional and the co-founder of the MFA program in Ballet at Oklahoma University (OU).
Yvonne Chouteau was recognized last month by OU at their third-annual Five Moons Dance Festival. Chief Ben Barnes of the Shawnee Tribe and Chief Glenna Wallace of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma (who have been featured in other episodes of this podcast) both spoke on the closing panel at the festival.
Watch the video below to learn more about the recent history of Chouteau's tribe, The Shawnee Tribe (formerly the Loyal Shawnee or Cherokee Shawnee), and how they became federally recognized in 2000.
In this episode, Chouteau discusses that some of her ancestors attended the Shawnee Indian Manual Labor Boarding School in Fairway, Kansas. To learn about the work The Shawnee Tribe is doing to preserve and interpret the history of the Shawnee Indian Manual Labor Boarding School, read this article from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
