The Buffalo is the gift animal - the "Gift of Gifts" to the Indian people. This piece honors and celebrates this gift in all its forms: physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental.
"Winterman's Marriage" illustrates the gifts that are found in the understanding of two "powers", the power of the North (force) and the power of the South (compassionate detachment). When there is balance, a marriage occurs. From this "marriage" come gifts born of the union. Winterman, an old man merged with an owl, is the forceful power of the North. The subtle power of compassionate detachment found in the South is a woman's face. The Buffalo, "the Gift" is found between the two.
Ralph P. Brown is a registered tribal member of the St. Regis band of Mohawk Indians. Having lived with many tribes and studied with several Medicine Men, he brings to his art and writing a lifetime of study and experience. An educator and instructor on the use of the Medicine Wheel, he is a pipe carrier, ceremony leader, traditional storyteller, and author of Awakening the Eagle: A Guide to the Medicine Wheel and 13 Virtues to a New Life: A Journey Around the Medicine Wheel. He and his wife Anita live in Nebraska where they own www.MirroredWindows.com, an online art gallery.
