(Tessie Mobley)
1906-1990
Opera Singer

Lushanya attended school in Ardmore, Oklahoma and lived on the family farm where she learned to break horses, shoot a rifle and, in contrast, studied piano from age six. She attended several universities in the United States and studied opera from 1931 to 1934 at the Staatliche Akademische Hochscule fur Musik in Berlin, Germany.

Sometimes called "Songbird of the Chickasaws," Lushanya began her career with a solo performance in the Hollywood Bowl for the 1929 Indian Ceremonials. From there, she went on to become a famed and beloved performer across Europe and the United States. She was the subject of several portrait artists, and her likeness hangs in prominent museums today.

Lushanya was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1964 and passed away in her Fort Worth, Texas home.