Jeanne Rorex-Bridges facts for kids

Jeanne Rorex-Bridges (born in 1951) is a talented painter and illustrator. She lives and works in Oklahoma. She is also known as Jeanne Walker Rorex. Jeanne is a member of the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama. This is a tribe that is officially recognized by the state of Alabama.

Jeanne Rorex-Bridges is famous for her art in the Bacone flatstyle. This art style uses flat colors and little shading. Her paintings often show Native American women and women of African descent. They show these women doing everyday things. She has drawn pictures for 16 books. One famous book is Crossing Bok Chitto by Tim Tingle. She was also interviewed for a special project about Native American artists in Oklahoma.

Early Life and Education

Jeanne Walker was born in 1951 in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. Her parents were Allie E. (Stone) and Louis E. "Buster" Walker. She grew up on a farm near Oktaha, Oklahoma, with her six brothers and sisters. Her mother's family had Cherokee roots. Her uncle, Willard Stone, was a very famous sculptor.

Jeanne went to school in Oktaha. She finished high school in 1969. In 1971, she married Kenneth Rorex. They had two sons together. Later, in 1978, Jeanne went back to college. She studied art at Bacone College with teachers like Dick West and Ruthe Blalock Jones. She did very well and graduated in 1980. After that, she went to Northeastern Oklahoma State University. There, she earned a degree in graphic art.

Artistic Career

Jeanne Rorex's art uses the Bacone flatstyle. This means her paintings have flat colors and not much shading. Many of her artworks show women. They often show women taking care of children or working in fields. Her art also explores different parts of a woman's life, like being pregnant or a mother. She uses symbols too, like corn, the sun, and the moon. Her figures are usually placed in nature scenes.

She started showing her art at events for Native American artists. She won many awards. For example, she won the Jerome Tiger Memorial Award five times. This award was given at the Trail of Tears Art Show. In 1988, she was asked to show her art in the Cherokee Legends Exhibit. This exhibit was at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina.

The Indian Arts and Crafts Act

In 1990, a law called the Indian Arts and Crafts Act was passed. This law was made to stop people who were not Native American from selling art as "Indian art." The law said that only people who were part of a recognized tribe could sell their art as "Indian art." If someone broke this law, they could face serious trouble, like big fines or even jail time.

This law caused some disagreements. Some people thought it was good because it stopped fake art. Others, like Jeanne Rorex, felt it threatened their ability to make a living. Even though the law allowed non-members to be certified by a tribe, Jeanne did not want to ask for this. She felt it would make her family's heritage seem fake.

In 1991, her uncle Willard Stone was certified as a Cherokee artist. Jeanne and other family members asked for this to be removed. They felt it recognized his art but not his family's heritage. Because of the law, Jeanne was not allowed to show her art at some big Native American art shows. These included events at the Five Civilized Tribes Museum and the Philbrook Museum of Art. A group called the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression supported her. They argued that the law went against her First Amendment rights to free expression. However, no changes were made to the law at that time.

Later Career and Challenges

In 1995, Jeanne had her own art show called Harmony, Strength and the Spiritual: The Art of Jeanne Walker Rorex. It was held at the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, Connecticut. The next year, another show featured over 200 of her artworks. Around the year 2000, Jeanne married James R. Bridges. She then started using the name Jeanne Rorex-Bridges for her art.

She continued to create art. However, she had to market herself as an "Oklahoma artist" instead of a "Native American artist." She and her husband traveled a lot. They showed her art in 17 different states. They attended events like the Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In 2011, Jeanne Rorex-Bridges had a stroke. She had to learn how to paint with her left hand. After this, she became an enrolled member of the state-recognized Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama. Some federally recognized Cherokee tribes question the official standing of this tribe.

Jeanne Rorex-Bridges' art has been on the covers of many books. She has illustrated 16 books that have been published across the country. One of these is Crossing Bok Chitto, a children's book by Tim Tingle. This book tells the story of a Choctaw girl who helps a slave boy escape. Jeanne's paintings bring the story to life. She also created a series called Sisters (1991–1995). This series explored the connections between African and Indigenous people. It showed their shared history, including how many people of African descent were forced to move with Native people during the Trail of Tears. In 2012, she was part of the Oklahoma Native Artist Oral History Project at Oklahoma State University.

In 2016, Oklahoma passed a law that stopped members of state-recognized tribes from showing their art. This meant Jeanne Rorex-Bridges and other artists could not participate in major Native Art shows again. However, in 2017, they were allowed to return. This happened after another artist, Peggy Fontenot, challenged the law. The Attorney General of Oklahoma agreed to pause the law. In 2019, a federal court said the state law was against the U.S. Constitution. The court ruled that the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 allowed artists from any U.S. tribe to sell their art. So, the state could not make a stricter rule. That same year, Jeanne was featured in the Women of the Five Civilized Tribes Exhibit. This show was held at the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma.