Post by Okwes on Feb 16, 2006 9:47:56 GMT -5
Noted Pawnee elder passes away at 83
Echohawk was an artist, actor, advocate for his people
BARTLESVILLE OK
Sam Lewin 2/14/2006
A Pawnee elder that excelled in a diverse range of fields and professions has passed away.
Brummett Echohawk died Feb. 13 of natural causes in a Bartlesville hospital. He was 83.
“He was an author, actor, painter, sketch artist and World War II veteran,” Brummet Echohawk’s nephew Steve Echohawk told the Native American Times.
During his long career Echohawk was spotlighted throughout the country. In 2001, the Frye Art Museum in Seattle featured a display called, "Little Chief: The Comic Art of Brummett Echohawk, a hilarious Native American comic strip that ran in Tulsa's Sunday World.”
Steve Echohawk said his uncle also drew for the Chicago Tribune and the Detroit Free Press.
Brummett Echohawk was Kit-Kahaki (warrior band) and attended the Chilocco Indian Boarding School in Chilocco, Oklahoma. He distinguished himself during World War II, winning a Bronze Star, three Purple Hearts and four Battle Stars. According to an online account of his bravery, Echohawk and “William Lasley, a Pottawatomie, led a successful charge at Anzio Beach to take the 'Factory' which insured that the allied toe-hold at Anzio Beach was secure. Lasley was killed in the first assault.”
After the war Echohawk set about creating paintings, emerging as a well-known artist with works displayed in galleries across the world. It’s a legacy that likely will endure: The day after Echohawk’s death the website eBay listed some of his paintings available for sale.
Echohawk also dabbled in acting at a time when the American Indian presence in Hollywood was sorely lacking. Despite this, Echohawk was generous with other performers, once sending a letter to Hollywood producers commending Caucasian actor Jay Brands for “his authentic performance and his ability” to speak the Pawnee language on the 50s TV show Yancy Derringer.
Years later author Yardena Rand wrote a book called “Why We Love Westerns,” that featured an interview with Echohawk. Rand was trying to gauge Pawnee reaction to Kevin Costner’s “Dances With Wolves.”
She wrote: “Brummett Echohawk, noted Pawnee actor, painter, writer, veteran, and historian of the Pawnee nation, expressed complete disgust with most Hollywood renditions of Indians. But he was pleased with what he felt was an accurate portrayal in Dances with Wolves. He was glad Costner used ‘real Indian people and there were no headbands in sight,’ a practice started early on in the film industry to keep white actors’ black wigs from flying off during chase scenes."
The article, which describes Echohawk as “the grandson of a Pawnee scout who served in Major Frank North’s all Pawnee battalion in the 1860s and a decorated veteran of World War II,” also says Echohawk enjoyed Costner’s film because it “made the point we were very powerful. You could hardly call this tribe a weak-kneed bunch.”
Steve Echohawk described his uncle as “an excellent man. He was a friend to everyone and everyone knew him.”
He also said Brummett Echohawk was “very traditional. He was a very proud Pawnee.”
You can reach Sam Lewin and sam@okit.com
Echohawk was an artist, actor, advocate for his people
BARTLESVILLE OK
Sam Lewin 2/14/2006
A Pawnee elder that excelled in a diverse range of fields and professions has passed away.
Brummett Echohawk died Feb. 13 of natural causes in a Bartlesville hospital. He was 83.
“He was an author, actor, painter, sketch artist and World War II veteran,” Brummet Echohawk’s nephew Steve Echohawk told the Native American Times.
During his long career Echohawk was spotlighted throughout the country. In 2001, the Frye Art Museum in Seattle featured a display called, "Little Chief: The Comic Art of Brummett Echohawk, a hilarious Native American comic strip that ran in Tulsa's Sunday World.”
Steve Echohawk said his uncle also drew for the Chicago Tribune and the Detroit Free Press.
Brummett Echohawk was Kit-Kahaki (warrior band) and attended the Chilocco Indian Boarding School in Chilocco, Oklahoma. He distinguished himself during World War II, winning a Bronze Star, three Purple Hearts and four Battle Stars. According to an online account of his bravery, Echohawk and “William Lasley, a Pottawatomie, led a successful charge at Anzio Beach to take the 'Factory' which insured that the allied toe-hold at Anzio Beach was secure. Lasley was killed in the first assault.”
After the war Echohawk set about creating paintings, emerging as a well-known artist with works displayed in galleries across the world. It’s a legacy that likely will endure: The day after Echohawk’s death the website eBay listed some of his paintings available for sale.
Echohawk also dabbled in acting at a time when the American Indian presence in Hollywood was sorely lacking. Despite this, Echohawk was generous with other performers, once sending a letter to Hollywood producers commending Caucasian actor Jay Brands for “his authentic performance and his ability” to speak the Pawnee language on the 50s TV show Yancy Derringer.
Years later author Yardena Rand wrote a book called “Why We Love Westerns,” that featured an interview with Echohawk. Rand was trying to gauge Pawnee reaction to Kevin Costner’s “Dances With Wolves.”
She wrote: “Brummett Echohawk, noted Pawnee actor, painter, writer, veteran, and historian of the Pawnee nation, expressed complete disgust with most Hollywood renditions of Indians. But he was pleased with what he felt was an accurate portrayal in Dances with Wolves. He was glad Costner used ‘real Indian people and there were no headbands in sight,’ a practice started early on in the film industry to keep white actors’ black wigs from flying off during chase scenes."
The article, which describes Echohawk as “the grandson of a Pawnee scout who served in Major Frank North’s all Pawnee battalion in the 1860s and a decorated veteran of World War II,” also says Echohawk enjoyed Costner’s film because it “made the point we were very powerful. You could hardly call this tribe a weak-kneed bunch.”
Steve Echohawk described his uncle as “an excellent man. He was a friend to everyone and everyone knew him.”
He also said Brummett Echohawk was “very traditional. He was a very proud Pawnee.”
You can reach Sam Lewin and sam@okit.com