{"id":1175,"date":"2026-06-18T20:32:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T20:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/?page_id=1175"},"modified":"2026-07-23T18:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T18:54:19","slug":"2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Native American Artists Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Banner<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Meet our 2026 Hall of Fame Honorees<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\"Paul<\/figure>
\n

Paul King<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Paul established career goals in the seventh grade, Major League Baseball or graphic designer. Although the MLB career didn\u2019t materialize, he did become graphic designer\/illustrator after receiving his bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Southeastern Oklahoma State University\/Durant and his Graphic Design diploma from Oklahoma State University, Institute of Technology\/Okmulgee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

King has been recognized and honored on all levels during his educator tenure, and now he has returned to his artist roots with this 2012 retirement. He exhibits his Choctaw culture and sport art in Oklahoma art markets since that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click to learn more about Paul King<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Merlin<\/figure>
\n

Merlin Little Thunder<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Merlin Little Thunder was born in 1956 to George and Connie Little Thunder who were active in the small tight-knit Cheyenne community of Fonda. He was raised on his family\u2019s Indian allotment where his Grandma, Daisy Old Bear, showed him how to gather wild foods and medicines from the land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He showed an early gift for drawing, sparked by an uncle who was also an artist; and by the time he attended Canton high school, he was already earning money with his art. He also played football and basketball for the school,  conditioning himself by running nine miles home after practice.  His athleticism became local legend in Canton when he won the state championship for the two-mile run in 1974 and 1975.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click to learn more about Merlin Little Thunder<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Jon<\/figure>
\n

Jon Tiger<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Jon Tiger is a Muscogee artist, storyteller, cultural organizer, and Heneha of the Eufaula-Canadian Tribal Town whose life and work are rooted in memory, responsibility, and community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lifelong resident of Eufaula, Oklahoma, Tiger was raised by his grandmother, Susie Scott, whom he called \u201cMom.\u201d Her enduring instruction\u2014\u201cNever forget your ancestors\u201d\u2014became a guiding principle that continues to shape his art, his service, and his commitment to preserving Muscogee history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click to learn more about Jon Tiger<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet our 2026 Hall of Fame Honorees Paul King Paul established career goals in the seventh grade, Major League Baseball or graphic designer. Although the MLB career didn\u2019t materialize, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1175","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2026 Native American Artists Hall of Fame - Semple Family Museum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2026 Native American Artists Hall of Fame - Semple Family Museum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meet our 2026 Hall of Fame Honorees Paul King Paul established career goals in the seventh grade, Major League Baseball or graphic designer. Although the MLB career didn\u2019t materialize, he […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Semple Family Museum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-23T18:54:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/100\/2026\/07\/157.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/\",\"name\":\"2026 Native American Artists Hall of Fame - Semple Family Museum\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/100\/2026\/07\/157-1024x256.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T20:32:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-23T18:54:19+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/100\/2026\/07\/157.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/100\/2026\/07\/157.png\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"Banner for the Semple Family Museum of Native American Art at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, featuring an eagle emblem, museum name in white and turquoise text, and a circular university logo.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"2026 Native American Artists Hall of Fame\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/\",\"name\":\"Semple Family Museum\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"2026 Native American Artists Hall of Fame - Semple Family Museum","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"2026 Native American Artists Hall of Fame - Semple Family Museum","og_description":"Meet our 2026 Hall of Fame Honorees Paul King Paul established career goals in the seventh grade, Major League Baseball or graphic designer. Although the MLB career didn\u2019t materialize, he […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/","og_site_name":"Semple Family Museum","article_modified_time":"2026-07-23T18:54:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/100\/2026\/07\/157.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/","url":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/","name":"2026 Native American Artists Hall of Fame - Semple Family Museum","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/100\/2026\/07\/157-1024x256.png","datePublished":"2026-06-18T20:32:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-23T18:54:19+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/100\/2026\/07\/157.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/100\/2026\/07\/157.png","width":2000,"height":500,"caption":"Banner for the Semple Family Museum of Native American Art at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, featuring an eagle emblem, museum name in white and turquoise text, and a circular university logo."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/2026-native-american-artists-hall-of-fame\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"2026 Native American Artists Hall of Fame"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/","name":"Semple Family Museum","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1175"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1276,"href":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1175\/revisions\/1276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.se.edu\/semplefamilymuseum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}