Renowned Choctaw artist unveils new sculpture and is inducted into Hall of Fame

Choctaw artist Jane Semple Umsted’s newest sculpture, The Two Brothers, was officially dedicated October 4, 2024, and is prominently placed at Legacy Plaza on the campus of Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SE) in Durant. It portrays brothers, Chahta and Chiksa, and is a testament to how the tribes work collaboratively together and with the university, where a large population of Native American students attend.

The sculpture is based off the legend of the brothers who were originally of the same tribe, each having led their own group. The brothers decided to go their own way, yet never lost respect and admiration for the other. The story has been kept alive for generations.
Umsted said she couldn’t think of two tribes that are closer than the Choctaws and Chickasaws.

The 1,700-pound sculpture took over two years to create and represents a history of mutual friendship and respect. Both tribal nations have accomplished many goals and efforts together, including educational opportunities for their members, a top priority.

Choctaw Chief Gary Batton and Chickasaw Governor Bill Anoatubby attended the ceremony and spoke about how well the tribes work together to impact their tribes, communities, state and the nation.

At the dedication ceremony, the SE Student Government Association proclaimed the day as Ittibapishi Tuklo Nittak, or “Two Brothers Day” on campus. Umsted said she hopes the students of SE who are Native American, no matter the tribe, will feel pride in the sculpture.
She wants viewers to be able to walk up to the sculpture and be mesmerized, to get the feeling of the relationship that the figures represent.

Umsted researched and chose the 16th century Mississippian era to model the brothers from. She said she wanted the bodies to be strong and represent power. The jewelry is modeled after shell and clay jewelry of the time, using insignia from the era.

She said she read of the brothers, Chahta and Chiksa, years ago in the book, The Rise and Fall of the Choctaw Nation, by Angie Debo. Debo was a well-known authority on Native American history. When Umsted discovered the legend was about the tribe splitting into two tribes, she realized there was no art depicting the story. That’s when the concept of The Two Brothers was born.

When President Thomas Newsom came to SE, he had a goal of highlighting the university’s Native American heritage and wanted to place a sculpture on the front lawn. “His idea coincided with my concept. It melded together, which I am just such a big believer in that. There’s a time for everything. You have to be ready for opportunities in your life. You have to be ready because they don’t come by your way very often, but things line up like that. They just lined up for me to be the person that had the opportunity to do something that I wanted to do but couldn’t do by myself.”

Umsted has always created art, primarily tribal in nature, and draws inspiration from her Choctaw ancestry which goes back to two Choctaw Chiefs, Peter Pitchlynn and William Finley Semple.

She is drawn to challenging, larger-than-life projects and enjoys working on long-lasting pieces. Her passion is re-creating moments of Choctaw culture, telling stories through her art. She spends a great deal of time in research, ensuring each piece is historically accurate.

“For most of my life, I have been connected to Southeastern,” she said.

Umsted’s parents went to SE. Her maternal grandfather was on the first football team, and her paternal great-aunt, Clara Petty Semple, president of her class, was one of the first five graduates in its all-women graduating class. She also became the first alumni association president. Clara’s husband, William Finley Semple, was Choctaw Chief in the 1920s.

Umsted’s maternal grandfather’s cousin, C.D. French, was a teacher at SE during the Great Depression, and his industrial arts students built the SE amphitheater which is still in use today.

She grew up down the street from SE and with so many of her family attending there, she said it felt like an extension of her education, although upon graduation from high school, she attended the University of Oklahoma (OU) on a scholarship, graduating as a sculpture major, and receiving her degree in art.

In 1984, Umsted began entering art shows, becoming totally emersed in the history of the Choctaw tribe. “My granddaddy was an original enrollee, and I am a history buff, so I just kind of dived into my Choctaw heritage. Always since I was a child, I have done Native American art.” She said as an adult, she felt compelled to do more Choctaw art to give back to the Tribe.

Umsted earned her second degree in elementary education at SE, and then a master’s degree from there, as well.

She has taught music and art at Denison, Texas, art at Atoka High School, and at Durant Public Schools, where she retired.

In 1990, she became SE’s Director of Public Relations and Alumni Office where she remained for ten years. During that time, a 93-piece art collection was gifted to SE, and Umsted oversaw the collection. It became her goal to have a building to house the collection. That goal eventually became the Semple Family Museum of Native American Art, of which she is a family founder and curator. The museum is located on the SE campus.

She was appointed to the Institute of American Indian Arts Board of Trustees by President Joe Biden in 2023.

In September, Umsted was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame through the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women. She and five others joined the 141 women inducted since 1983.

She said the nomination shocked her. “I didn’t think of myself as being that caliber, and so I was very surprised, and then after a little bit, it just humbled me so much because I thought someone values my lifelong contributions to the state of Oklahoma, so it was thrilling. The other women that were honored, to be a part of that legacy, made me feel an awful lot of pride. My family was there to support me. The tribe was there to support me. It was a wonderful experience.”

Umsted and her husband, Gus, just returned from Mobile, Alabama, where 18 pieces of her art which had been on display at the Choctaw Cultural Center are being shown at the University of South Alabama. Her paintings and sculptures can be seen throughout the Choctaw Nation and in the city of Durant.

She is involved in tribal and community affairs and is an active volunteer. With no plans to retire anytime soon, she said of her art, “I have to do it as long as I can. In fact, I have so many things I want to do, it’s going to take another lifetime to do it, so many ideas. I”ll do it as long as I can.”