NARRATIVE: The time of the American West…it is a time of history filled with wonder, romance and adventure, yet also a time of cultural conflict, misunderstanding, and brutal challenges with nature and also mankind where people struggled to come together in unity.

This portrait depicts the Sioux Chief Sitting Bull (c. 1831-1890) who united the Sioux tribes of the American Great Plains against the settlers taking their tribal land. The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty granted the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota to the Sioux, a place deeply sacred to the Sioux and within the boundaries of the Great Sioux Reservation. When gold was discovered in the black hills in 1874, the peaceful treaty became short-lived. The U.S. government reneged on the treaty, demanding that any Sioux who dared resist move to the redrawn reservation lines by January 31, 1876 or be considered an enemy of the United States. Sitting Bull was expected to move everyone in his village, including children and the elderly, an impossible 240 miles in the bitter cold and snow to safety. The encroachment of settlers on traditional Indian lands also greatly reduced the buffalo population that the Sioux depended on for survival.

Sitting Bull lead his people to freedom for a time in Canada where he remained for years. His name is associated with the battle of little big horn and, although he himself did not fight in the battle, he was considered a key spiritual leader inspiring the warriors involved. At time went on with food and resources scarce, sitting Bull eventually returned and surrendered to the U.S. Army in 1881 in exchange for amnesty for his people. Sitting Bull also surrendered his fle to Major Brotherton, commanding officer of Fort Buford. Sitting Bull said to Brotherton, "I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle

He was a prisoner of war for two years before being moved to Standing Rock Reservation. Sitting Bull was occasionally permitted to travel and it was on one of his trips outside the reservation that he struck up a friendship with sharpshooter Annie Oakley and joined Oakley in performing in Buffalo Bills Wild West Show. He rode in the show’s opening act and even met President Cleveland.

Standing Rock Reservation, where he resided, soon became the center of controversy when the Ghost Dance Movement started gaining traction. Followers believed that the ghost dance would bring back the buffalo and restore their way of life they had before the settlers came. Although this was a dance for peace and freedom, it was viewed by the government as an inciting war dance and was banned.

Although Sitting Bull did not participate in the ghost dances, he was an influential presence to his people on the reservation and allowed his people to perform the dances and, in December of 1890, he was arrested and shot. Two weeks after his death, the army massacred hundreds of Sioux men, women and children at the battle of Wounded Knee.

In my painting "A prayer For His People," I choose to depict Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotanka) in a moment of reflection and prayer, holding his peace pipe. He is praying for the survival and well-being of his people as the sun descends on the Black Hills, his ancestral homeland. At a glance, it may appear as though he is dancing, which I intentionally wanted to create since that was part of the misunderstanding of his arrest and execution.

Often as humans we see and assess situations too quickly, which leads to misunderstandings and judgement rather than quietly pausing to really look and seek to understand the heart and intent of another person and ultimately find the truth. When I gaze upon this painting it is a reminder to me to seek and observe - to really search for the truth and meaning within a moment or circumstance before I make decisions and come to any conclusions.

It also represents a celebration of freedom to me. That Sitting Bull could be praying or dancing in reverence under the skies of the American West stands as a symbol and remembrance that inner freedom of spirit is something that can never be taken away from you despite your circumstances.

I like to imagine that his prayer is still residing in the skies over the vast landscape of the southwest…a prayer for peace and well-being for all people of all nationalities so that we can live in hope of a future that is filled with harmony, Grace and forgiveness. It is a prayer we need to continually lift up in unison this day as an opportunity to see and understand that we are all relations under God and are all connected through our humanity.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” – Declaration of Independence, 1776

May we remember these word of "The Declaration of Independence" before this time of the forging of the frontier of the American West, their meaning and intention seemingly forgotten during the American Indian and U.S. Government Wars of the 1800’s when people clamored to accumulate land and natural resources for ownership to the detriment of others freedoms and liberties. May these powerful words be rekindled in our heart today to include all people of our great nation and all nations of the world.

“It is through this mysterious power that we too have our being and we therefore give to our neighbors, even our animal neighbors, the same right as ourselves to inhabit this vast land.” – Sitting Bull