Osage Nation Museum Acquires Rare Portrait from WWII POW Camp

Press Release
Tinker Museum

Pawhuska, Ok. – A rare artifact of war, symbolic of an Osage warrior’s service during WWII, is a recent acquisition of the Osage Nation Museum (ONM). When Lisa J. Tinker called the ONM this spring, she shared an incredible story about her father Major Edward Elmer Tinker and his experiences as a POW during WWII.  As his daughter Lisa related, “Dad left the prisoner of war camp with only the clothes on his back and this drawing.”  She wanted to find a permanent home for this family treasure so that others would be able to appreciate and hear of his experiences.

Enemy fire shot down the then Lieutenant’s plane in December of 1943.  After Lt. Tinker escaped the burning plane, he was captured by villagers who marched him to their nearby jail. The officer was then transferred to a POW Camp in Shouman, Bulgaria. A fellow prisoner at the Camp drew this expressive portrait of the heroic survivor of that crash. For six months, the family thought that Lt. Tinker had been killed in action.  Thankfully and incredibly, he returned home safely to his family. The meaning the drawing held to Lt. Tinker is evident as it was carefully transported home as well.  ONM Director Marla Redcorn-Miller shares, “The immediacy and physicality of this drawing, one created in prison, traveling overseas and indeed across time, has a value and meaning that was truly only known to Major Tinker. It does, however, provide a rare visual record of his experiences as a POW.” 

Edward Elmer Tinker retired as a Major from the United States Air Force and was a WWII and Korean War veteran.  Major Tinker was from the prominent Tinker family of Osages.  His father Nicholas Alexander Tinker was the brother of Major General Clarence L. Tinker who was the highest ranking officer of Native American ancestry and the first general lost in action during World War II. Notably, Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City is also named after him.

The Osage Nation Museum stewards such treasures with the utmost care by following museum best practices for preservation and access.  ONM is a central repository for Osage material culture, arts, artifacts, and digital and document archives and routinely reviews acquisition proposals to expand its one-of-a-kind collection that tells the history and culture of the Osage.

About the Osage Nation Museum| The premier destination to experience Osage history, art, and culture.

Visit the Osage Nation Museum (ONM) in historic Pawhuska, Oklahoma.  Our rotating exhibits convey the story of the Osage people throughout history and celebrate the culture today.  Highlights include an extensive photograph collection, historical artifacts as well as traditional and contemporary art.  Founded in 1938, the ONM is the oldest tribally-owned museum in the United States.  Admission and parking are free. 

Admission and parking are free.

Contact Information

Location: 819 Grandview Avenue; Pawhuska, OK 74056

When works of art or cultural items enter into museum spaces, they are most often associated with stories that give greater depth and understanding to the piece.