The Great Omaha powwow dance of the Cheyenne in Montana. Library of Congress.
Few places in this country have had such a captivating hold over us the way the Great Plain have. This is the place of the majestic buffalo, of tall grasses undulating underneath prairie winds, of endless fields stretching so far they disappear behind the curvature of the earth. It’s also a place of history: Westward expansion, railroads cutting into the grassy plains and the Battle of Little Bighorn, where Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Gall claimed victory over 7th Cavalry leader George Armstrong Custer. It was also a diverse region: Comanche, Kiowa and Osage to the south; the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Omaha and Arikara in the central part of the country; and the Blackfeet, Assiniboine, Mandan and Crow in the Northern Plains.
Sioux Indians—Pine Ridge S.D., photograph. Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-115459.
In Pekka Hämäläinen’s 2019 book Lakota America, the author writes, “The great interior…was a dynamic, cosmopolitan and intensely contested world. Dozens of Indian nations and four colonial powers sought to rule parts or all of it, producing a shifting constellation of expansions, conquests, retreats, and collapses.”
Oreland Joe (Southern Ute/Navajo), White Horse Leading the Dog Soldiers, oil on canvas, 48 x 48”. Courtesy Manitou Galleries.
The artwork that originates from the region is made from many materials, including textiles, beadwork and quillwork, basketry, pottery and incredible works on paper, such as many of the early and great ledger works that documented vital periods of history—records relating to the Battle of Little Bighorn, for instance.
Sheridan MacKnight (Hunkpapa Lakota/ White Earth Chippewa), Frances Flying Earth/Mom, 1954, gouache and ink on deer hide prayer drum
One of the artists who has embraced the region and its rich history is Oreland Joe (Southern Ute/Navajo), whose ledger-inspired oil paintings document battles, ceremonies and symbolic interpretations of historic events. His paintings are filled with the materials that have come to define the region: war shields and spears, flowing headdresses, elaborate shirts and vests that reveal exquisite beadwork or quillwork, and the magnificent horse culture that thrived on the grassy plains.
Sheridan MacKnight (Hunkpapa Lakota/ White Earth Chippewa), Modern Lakota, buffalo prayer drum, gouache and ink
Sheridan MacKnight (Hunkpapa Lakota/ White Earth Chippewa), Prayers to Uncí Maka, Grandmother Earth, gouache and ink on vintage song sheet
Sheridan MacKnight (Hunkpapa Lakota/White Earth Chippewa) also uses the ledger medium, as well as jewelry, to tell stories about her culture and home. She came to art in the late 1980s as a young, single mother living in Southern California. After attending a Sundance ceremony near her family tribal land in Little Eagle, South Dakota, Sheridan began to see pictorials in her sketches and they were full of memories of her spiritually healing days with her Lakota family. She began to paint her perception of her people, full of love, beauty and spirit. “With representing my family, my culture, through my art, comes a very big responsibility,” Sheridan says, “In these times, we have seen injustice and incredible despair, along with amazing leaps of spiritual growth and celebration…I love when I feel inspired for an idea, with passion and excitement.”
John Isaiah Pepion (Blackfeet), Wolf Chief, ink on antique document, 8¼ x 11”
John Isaiah Pepion (Blackfeet), Traditional Dancer, ink on antique document, 16 x 11”
Another artist who uses ledger to explore the region and the people is John Isaiah Pepion (Blackfeet), who is represented by FoR Fine Art in Tucson, Arizona, and in Whitefish and Bigfork, both in Montana. His work, showing uniquely composed human figures and wildlife, is colorful and leaps from the antique paper. Pepion is an acclaimed artist, muralist and educator who hails from the Blackfeet Nation in northern Montana. His Great Plains graphic art combines traditional design and contemporary illustrations to create a signature look that is instantly recognized throughout the country. Pepion considers his art journey as ceremony because his understanding of his past, family and culture grows with each piece he creates. “Through my art,” he says, “I find personal healing, cultural preservation and a deeper connection to place.” When not creating art, the artist is an active public speaker and educator who has traveled the country speaking at public schools, organizations and with groups of aspiring artists.
John Isaiah Pepion (Blackfeet), Charges Across, ink and colored pencil on antique document, 16 x 27”
Carlin Bear Don’t Walk (Crow/Northern Cheyenne), Time Taker, oil on canvas, 40 x 30”
Montana-based painter Carlin Bear Don’t Walk is bringing his art and his life together in his beautifully painted works that shows dramatic scenes that highlight both peace and conflict. “As art is life and life is art, I always live by honor and stay true to form, true to self on every level because it embodies the essence of my existence from the perspective of my people,” Bear Don’t Walk says. “The vivid imagery, themes and subjects depicted in my oil paintings are strictly from my surroundings and experiences—nobody else’s. I do this for my Crow and Cheyenne culture out of love, respect and dedication, to represent for my community and be their voice, to tell their story in a way nobody has done it before.”
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Featured Artists
Carlin Bear Don’t Walk (Crow/Northern Cheyenne)
Busby, Montana
www.carlinbeardontwalk.com
John Isaiah Pepion (Blackfeet)
Represented by FoR Fine Art
235 Central Avenue, Whitefish, MT 59937, (406) 730-8855
573 Electric Avenue, Bigfork, MT 59911, (406) 420-2453
6420 N. Campbell Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85718, (520) 989-0339
info@forfineart.com, www.forfineart.com
Sheridan MacKnight (Hunkpapa Lakota/White Earth Chippewa)
www.sherida
Represented by Manitou Galleries
123 W. Palace Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 986-0440, info@manitougalleries.com, www.manitougalleries.com
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