Te Ata Fisher

• Name — Te Ata • Birth Name — Mary Frances Thompson • Born — 3 December 1895 • Birthplace — Emet, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, U.S. • Died — 26 October 1995 • Place of death — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. • Citizenship — Chickasaw Nation, American • Other Names — Te Ata ("Bearer of the morning") • Occupation — Actress, Storyteller • Education — Oklahoma College for Women • Parents — T. B. Thompson Bertie (Freund) Thompson • Spouse — Dr. George Clyde Fisher (1933–1949) • Relatives — * Douglas H. Johnston (uncle) • Helen TeAta Cole (niece) • Tom Cole (grand nephew)

Her stage name, Te Ata, means "Bearer of the morning". Some Chickasaw speakers say that her name originates from "itti' hata, an old word meaning sycamore, birch, or cottonwood, and that, in order to further accentuate her name, she changed it to "Te Ata".

Te Ata was born Mary Frances Thompson in Emet, Chickasaw Nation (now in Johnston County, Oklahoma), to Thomas Benjamin Thompson, a Chickasaw, and Bertie (Freund) Thompson a German American. The name "Te Ata" is the Māori (New Zealand Indigenous) word for "the morning". It was given to her by an unknown person. "Te Ata" is not a Chickasaw word nor phrase. Te Ata began her early education in a one-room tribal school; after two years she was sent to Bloomfield Academy, a Chickasaw boarding school for girls. At Bloomfield, she met Muriel Wright, a teacher who became her role model. Te Ata graduated high school from Tishomingo, Oklahoma, where she was salutatorian. She is listed a 1/8th Chickasaw by Blood on the Dawes Rolls. In the fall of 1915, Te Ata began college at the Oklahoma College for Women (now the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma) in Chickasha, and graduated in 1919. During her time at Oklahoma College for Women, she worked as an assistant in the theater department for theater instructor Frances Dinsmore Davis. It was during this time that Te Ata was first introduced to the stage.

Davis encouraged Te Ata to use Native American stories as the basis for her senior performance at Oklahoma College for Women. Te Ata made her debut as an artist during her senior year of college performing songs and stories from several different tribes. The debut was well-received, and she was asked to perform at the University of Oklahoma and various other institutions. Upon graduation, Te Ata was offered a part in a traveling Chautauqua circuit by Thurlow Lieurance, who had been in the audience at her senior performance. The tour gave Te Ata an opportunity to travel across the United States and fostered her talents as a performer. She undertook further training in theatre at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She then moved to New York City, where she performed in several Broadway productions; her most notable role was Andromache in The Trojan Women. She eventually decided to concentrate on her one-woman performances of Native American songs and stories. In 1928, while living in New York City, she shared an apartment with Chickasaw educator and performer Mary Stone McLendon. She referred to McLendon as her "cousin", however it is unknown whether they were actually related or whether they knew each other prior to living in New York City. Eleanor Roosevelt, whose husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was then governor of New York, invited Te Ata to perform at the governor's mansion. After Franklin was elected president, Te Ata performed at the White House for his first state dinner. In 1939, Te Ata performed at Hyde Park for the Roosevelts and the visiting King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who were visiting the United States. The King and Queen then invited Te Ata to perform in England. In addition to traveling across the United States, Te Ata visited Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, England, Peru, Guatemala, Canada, and Mexico. Te Ata's career spanned more than 60 years, and she collected hundreds of stories from different tribes. During her performances she told numerous stories, such as "There Are Birds of Many Colors" by Hiamove, "The Creation of Mankind" told to her by her father, "How Death Came into the World", "Pasikola (Rabbit) was Disconnected", "Anybody Want a Wife?", "The Corn Ceremony", "The Blue Duck", and "Baby Rattlesnake".

On September 28, 1933, Te Ata married Dr. George Clyde Fisher in Muskogee, Oklahoma, at the Bacone College Ataloa Lodge, established by Chickasaw vocalist, educator, and friend Ataloa. Te Ata had many notable friends including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Jim Thorpe (Sac & Fox), and Woody Crumbo (Citizen Potawatomi). Through Dr. Fisher, she was introduced to Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, John Burroughs, Thomas Edison, E.W. Deming, Clark Wissler and Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance. She was also the niece of Douglas H. Johnston, the last governor of the old Chickasaw Nation. Te Ata died in Oklahoma City on October 26, 1995. Her legacy was continued through her family, which included former Oklahoma state legislator Helen TeAta Cole (since deceased in 2004) and Helen's son, U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma, Tom Cole.