Joan Hill

Joan Hill (December 19, 1930 – June 16, 2020 ), also known as Che-se-quah, was a Muscogee Creek artist of Cherokee ancestry. She was one of the most awarded Native American women artists in the 20th century.

Personal Joan Hill was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, on December 19, 1930, the daughter of William M. and Winnie Harris Hill.

She descended from both Muscogee Creek and Cherokee chiefs. She chose the name Cheh-se-quah, Muscogee for "Redbird," for both her great-grandfather, Redbird Harris, and her maternal grandfather. Redbird Harris was Cherokee and is listed on the Dawes Rolls.

Hill lived on the site of the old Confederate Fort Davis, located on the south bank of the Arkansas River two and one-half miles northeast of present Muskogee, with her family. Her studio was adjacent to a Pre-Columbian Indian mound dating from 1200 CE.

She received more than 290 awards from countries including Great Britain and Italy. Other honors include over 20 Grand Awards, and the Waite Phillips Artist Trophy. In addition, Hill was the winner of a prestigious mural competition at the Daybreak Star Performing Arts Center from the Seattle Arts Commission in Washington.

Hill said in 1991, "Art widens the scope of the inner and outer senses and enriches life by giving us a greater awareness of the world."

Death Hill died on June 16, 2020.