05/20/2026
The remarkable late Comanche artist and educator Josephine Myers- Wapp was certainly a true Comanche treasure. Born at Apache, Oklahoma in 1912, Josephine learned her traditional ways from her maternal grandmother Tissy-chauer-ne. It was her grandmother who inspired her lifelong connection to the arts.
At Santa Fe, New Mexico in the early 1930's, Josephine took part in a two-year teacher training course in American Indian arts and crafts. In her studies, she acquired traditional and contemporary weaving techniques which included finger-weaving. Josephine became quite accomplished on the treadle-looms and hand-frame looms as well as learning of pottery from the instruction of the noted San Ildefonso potter Maria Martinez.
Upon returning to Oklahoma in 1934, Josephine taught at Chilocco Indian School which was located north of Newkirk, Oklahoma. As the first teacher to bring arts and crafts to the school, she sought to teach her students an appreciation of American Indian art; revive and preserve old American Indian handcrafts; develop interest, technique, skill, and a high standard of workmanship in making articles for the home or sale toward earning a living; utilize discarded clothing and natural resources, such as clay and native dyes; and to find a worthy use of "leisure time." Wonderfully, Josephine readily equipped her talented students with assorted methods to maintain their culture in a modern world.
In addition, Josephine became one of the first faculty instructors at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe. For students who came from across the nation, the newly opened IAIA offered a post-secondary education in creative arts. Josephine taught native dancing, beadwork, fashion design, all types of weaving, including textiles, and traditional art techniques.
Of the three fundamental patterns woven without the use of a loom, she was best known for the arrowhead pattern. It is considered the most challenging and difficult pattern to complete. As Josephine became one of the primary teachers of traditional arts at the institute, she soon learned the tribal tradition of Eastern Woodlands fingerweaving.
An excellent picture of a Fingerwoven wool and yarn demonstration piece by the well-known Comanche educator and artist Josephine Myers-Wapp. Photograph courtesy of the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC. Gift of the artist, 1996. Additional information from the Oklahoma Arts Council, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center, Lawton, Oklahoma, the Santa Fe New Mexican, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Jessica RheAnn Metcalf (2010). Native Designers of High Fashion: Expressing Identity, Creativity, and Tradition in Contemporary Customary Clothing Design. Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona.
