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 Osjetea Briggs Posted by:  QuesterMark
N 31° 46.251 W 095° 37.945
15R E 250698 N 3518053
This post-mounted subject marker stands on the grounds of Palestine Realty at 118 Palestine Ave. (TX-19) in Palestine.
Waymark Code: WM14X75
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/05/2021
Views: 4
Marker erected by the Texas Historical Commission.
“Her name—pronounced “Osheeta”—means “falling star” in Choctaw. Briggs was a proud Native American, with Choctaw, Cherokee, and Kickapoo heritage.” -Texas Historical Commission Instagram
Texas Historical Commission Atlas data:
Index Entry Briggs, Osjetea
Address 400 Micheaux
City Palestine
County Anderson
Subject Codes artists; journalists; Native Americans; newspapers; writers and poets
Marker Year 2017
Marker Location Museum for East Texas Culture
Marker Size 27" x 42"
Marker Number: 20147
Marker Text:
Native American photographer, artist and writer Osjetea Briggs was born on December 14, 1917, to Simeon Singleton Briggs (1877-1974) and Docia Augusta (Gant) Briggs (1894-1969) in Groesbeck, Limestone County, Texas. Following her high school education, Osjetea moved to Houston where she worked as a film re-toucher until she took an unpaid job as the associate editor of The Houstonian newspaper.
Throughout the 1940s, she traveled the world as a photographer but moved to Palestine in the 1950s and opened her own photography studio. Her photographs captured downtown Palestine and local residents, as well as Palestine community groups. In 1954, she helped found and advise the Anderson County Council of Honor, a male-dominated organization that honored local citizens across eleven East Texas counties for their community service, a position she held for 40 years. In the early 1960s, she founded, edited and published her own weekly newspaper, the Elkhart Eagle and won awards for articles in the Grapeland Messenger and the Groesbeck Journal. Her column "Walk in my Moccasins" in the Elkhart Eagle won outstanding recognition for covering the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. In 1992, Osjetea's book, Walk in my Moccasins, was published, a 305-page compilation of her newspaper stories and experiences.
In addition to her writing and photography career, Osjetea was a member the Anderson County Democratic Executive Committee and a delegate to the Texas Democratic Convention. Briggs' continuous dedication to her community and heritage benefitted Palestine as well as the greater State of the Texas. She died on April 7, 2002, and is buried near Groesbeck.
(2017)
Marker is Property of the State of Texas
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Visit Instructions:
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