Mitakuye Oyasin finally complete
I have loved Lakota shields ever since seeing them in Western museums . So when I began playing around with the idea of incorporating a three-dimensional element within a painting, a Lakota shield came quickly to mind. The theme of Mitakuye Oyasin followed soon after. As explained in a prior post Mitakuye Oyasin is a Lakota phrase that can be translated as All my Relations – a reference to the sacred interconnectedness of all life on Mother Earth.
The 30″ X 40″ birch panel, done in the playful style of a hide painting, features representatives of the winged (ravens), the two-legged (bears – as they often walk on two legs like humans), and the four-legged (horses and buffaloes.) The concept of Mitakuye Oyasin actually includes all of creation – mountains, rivers, trees, elements, etc. But I decided to content myself with animals on the panel and a representation of humanity painted on the shield.
Traditionally a Lakota shield requires a vision, and I certainly needed one. How exactly should I depict humanity? A few ideas floated in my head, but nothing seemed to jell. Finally, after a sleepless night of focused receptivity, a very specific vision came to mind.
Hand prints appear often in rock art, and are generally considered to be symbolic of mankind. I saw that I was to paint four hands for the four sacred directions and their associated colors. Black/West. Red/North. Yellow/East. White/South — colors that are also representative of the races of man. The four hands reach toward the Sun in its bright blue sky — the Sun that represents Great Mystery, the origin of All, and in whom all are truly one. From the moment it popped into my head, it just felt right; and the painting of it went well. And just today, while doing a bit of research, I discovered Nahko and Medicine for the People. I had never before heard of this musical group, but I soon found myself listening to the song Mitakuye Oyasin from their 2014 album On the Verge. And this is what I discovered within the lyrics:
…Wakan Tanka
Skan Skan
Something holy
Moves here on the land
It is my brothers’
And my sisters’ hands…
Wow!