Lester Harragarra

Lester Harragarra is an enrolled member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and a descendant of the Kiowa Tribe. Lester’s father is the late Kenneth Harragarra, a World War II veteran and former Otoe-Missouria Tribal Chairman. Lester’s Otoe-Missouria grandparents are Moses and Mary Harragarra. His grandfather was one of the last hereditary chiefs of the Otoe-Missouria, and his grandmother initiated the first all American Indian War Mothers Chapter in the United States in 1943. Lester’s Kiowa roots are from his mother, Delores Toyebo Harragarra. In 1951, Delores was one of the first Kiowas to graduate from the University of Oklahoma.

Harragarra's images accompanied Jeffrey Gibson's Speak to Me and were on display in the Learning Gallery. The beautiful, large-scale photographs taken at powwows and other cultural gatherings illustrated how Jeffrey Gibson sources materials (like beads, jingles, fringe and coins) from cultural realms and combines them with influences from his own life.

Lester Harragarra's work was on display at Red Earth through March 2017.