Cherokee Nation and city officials on Tuesday dedicated a mural commemorating artisan Anna Belle Sixkiller Mitchell, known as a Cherokee National Treasure, in downtown Vinita, Oklahoma, along Route 66.
Mitchell, who lived in Vinita, was designated as a Cherokee National Treasure in 1988 for reviving traditional pottery methods and sharing her skill with others, according to a news release from the Cherokee Nation.
The mural, created by Cherokee Nation graphic artist Dan Mink, is along West Canadian Avenue and South Wilson Street (aka Route 66) in Vinita.
One of Mitchell’s daughters, Tribal Council Deputy Speaker Victoria Vazquez. attended the ceremony:
“During my mother’s career of over 40 years that she revived this art, she did receive recognition from Cherokee Nation and she did have people come from all over to buy her pottery, but she never would have dreamed that there would be this bigger-than-life-size poster on a building in downtown Vinita,” Vazquez said. “To our family, it’s just a wonderful, wonderful gift that the community made this happen. If mom and dad were here, daddy would be the most proud because he was her biggest fan. Truly, every time I see this I’ll feel their presence.”
Mitchell was a self-taught artist who began in 1969 after her husband requested she make a replica of Sequoyah’s pipe. That single project and an encounter with the University of Arkansas’ archeology museum archives led Mitchell to decades of studying, researching and reviving Southeastern style pottery, which is the traditional art of the Woodland Indians, including Cherokees, who originated from Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Alabama. She received numerous awards, and her work is in the permanent collection of the National Museum of the American Indian – Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. […]“We can showcase the history of Vinita, beautify our city and also educate our citizens with this banner. A lot of people may not know the contributions made by Anna Belle Sixkiller Mitchell, but because this is a well-traveled highway on Route 66, her story will be here on display for all to see,” said Vinita City Councilor Stephanie Hoskin. “We’re proud of the Cherokee Nation and the history of this area. You can’t have Vinita without the Cherokee Nation.”
This video explains Mitchell’s pottery legacy quite well:
The Eastern Trails Museum in Vinita, which is just one block west of Route 66, also contains an show of Mitchell’s pottery and tools, which are on permanent display.
Mitchell died in 2012 at age 85.
You can bet the Mitchell mural and her pottery will make their way into the American Indians and Route 66 website and tourism guide.
(Image of the Anna Belle Sixkiller Mitchell mural in Vinita, Oklahoma, via Facebook)