Peggy Tiger

Margaret Lois “Peggy” Tiger (February 14, 1943 - February 18, 2017 ) was a Cherokee Nation author and art gallery owner in Oklahoma. The widow of painter Jerome Tiger, she served as the caretaker of her husband's artistic legacy since his death in 1967. She wrote one of the first biographies on the life of Jerome Tiger and his artwork. Tiger was also the mother of Cherokee artist and women's rights activist, Dana Tiger.

Early life Born in 1943, Peggy Tiger was raised in the towns of Muskogee and Eufaula, Oklahoma. In an oral history interview in 2012, she noted that she had had no interest in art until meeting Jerome Tiger, whom she married when she was eighteen. They had three children together, Dana, Lisa, and Christopher, who was two weeks old when Jerome was killed at the age of twenty-six in a gun accident. In the years following, Peggy Tiger would adopt three more children and act as an informal mother to many others, including the friends of her children. She also continued coursework at Bacone College and Northeastern State University, graduating from the latter with a bachelor's degree in American Studies.

The Tiger Art Gallery was formed later, and Peggy ran that for many years. Originating as a T-shirt business to sell the designs of Johnny Tiger, Jerome's brother, it later became even more of a family affair. and Dana's children, Christie and Lisan.

Beginning in 2004, Peggy worked for the Cherokee Nation as a researcher and writer.

Death Peggy Tiger passed away in Muskogee, Oklahoma on February 18, 2017.