Change Comes on Hoofbeat
For a long time, I shied away from traditional Native American imagery. I’m sure someone will claim it as my usual penchant for contrariness, because while I loved riding horses, the idea of the horse being so intrinsically tied to Native American imagery always fascinated me.
The horse is so iconic to most peoples’ view of what constitutes a Native American, but horses came to the Americas at a great cost. They were brought by the Spanish who brutalized our cousins to the south and carried with them with diseases that the indigenous peoples of America had no immunity against.
After I began selling my prints at shows, I had a peer offer the advice that I should “-Draw wolves and eagles. Or horses. People love that traditional Native stuff. You’ll sell more.”
The encounter left a bad taste in my mouth and like any artist, sometimes the best way to vent is through art.
So when I set out to create something more “traditional” I sought to capture the catch-22 of the horse: they are majestic and powerful, wonderful creatures of strength and beauty. But they are omens of change to the Native American as well. Tribes adapted and advanced around the introduction of the horse, the gun, and so much more, but there was a cost that was already in the process of being paid.