Choctaw Black Turtle Storyteller By Randy Chitto

Late 20th/Early 21st Century

Each Turtle is 2.5" H - Stand is Oval - 2.625" H x 10.125" L x 5.875" W - 3" x 10.5"

Hand Built from Natural Clay and Pit Fired for a Matte to Glossy Black Finish and Wet Sanded for Smoothness of 4 Turtles on a Leather Rug with each Turtle Holding a Wood Stick with Featers and a Drum and Drum Stick and a Long Stick with a Star at the End and is Black on the Bottom

From a Private Colorado Collection

In Very Good Condition with 2 Turtles needing to be Re-glued onto Stand

Chitto has focused on clay sculpture, blending Choctaw storytelling with Southwestern techniques. His cheerful, animated figures have earned him awards like the Southwest Indian Art Association Fellowship and the Five Civilized Tribes Museum Heritage Award. His works are held in major collections, including the Heard Museum (Phoenix), Denver Art Museum, and National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC).

Chitto's turtles draw directly from Choctaw lore, particularly the story of the Trail of Tears and forced relocation in the 1830s. According to the legend, as the Choctaw people were displaced from their Mississippi homeland to Oklahoma, medicine elders entrusted sacred stories to three animals—the bear, raccoon, and turtle—to safeguard them until the people could return. The turtle, with its protective shell, embodies resilience and the enduring spirit of the nation. Chitto incorporates this by hand-building each piece from clay sourced near his studio, firing them to achieve a high sheen, and adding details like tiny medicine pouches filled with broken pottery shards (symbolizing ancestral earth carried by warriors).