MAY 14, 1949

YUCHI MUSCOGEE PHOTOGRAPHER T’SO-YA-HA (RICHARD RAY WHITMAN) BORN

Whitman, born in Claremore, Oklahoma (OK) and raised in Gypsy, OK, dropped out of high school before attending the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) where he took up photography. Richard Ray became an activist after the Native American occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969. Whitman attended California Institute of the Arts in 1971 and later the OK School of Photography. In 1973, he photographed the occupation of Wounded Knee, was arrested, and had his negatives seized by the FBI. Richard Ray’s black-and-white “Street Chiefs Series” portrays the plight of homeless Native men. As an actor, Whitman appeared in the following films by Native producers: Sterlin Harjo’s Barking Water (2009), Sydney Freeland’s Drunktown’s Finest, Tim Kelly & Charlie Soap’s The Cherokee Word for Water, and Steven Paul Judd & Tvli Jacob’s American Indian Graffiti: This Thing Life. Whitman also was co-creator of a video documenting the Yuchi language.

Sources: 

Wilhelm Murg, “Richard Ray Whitman’s pursuit of art led him to activism,” Oklahoma Gazette, 5/25/2016.  Retrieved 1/23/2023, Richard Ray Whitman’s pursuit of art led him to activism | Arts | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma Gazette (okgazette.com)

Wikipedia

Photo:  Oyvsdi, 7/14/2010. Public Domain.