Regarded as “the Modern Pocahontas” and born Mary Thompson, Fisher was born near Tishomingo, Oklahoma, and earned her degree at the Oklahoma College for Women (now the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma) in Chickasha. She first told her Native American stories as a means to finance her acting career in New York. Eventually, her storytelling blossomed into the craft for which she was so widely known. Te Ata’s programs consisted of native legend myths, chants, and old rituals in gorgeous costumes native to her culture. She performed extensively throughout the U.S. and abroad until the late 1970s. She was a member of the National Congress of American Indians and became a close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt. Te Ata, which means “bearer of the morning,” was named Oklahoma’s first State Treasure in 1987.