Nez Perce

Today, in the studio...working in the clay and now cleaning some bronzes to be packed for my up-coming show on the 18th. Thought I'd share this Nez Perce warrior on Blip.
The Nez Perce were native to the valley I live in for centuries. After the white men came, they were summarily rounded up and put on a reservation in Idaho and Oregon. In the years preceding, they were peaceful traders with the settlers here. They kept Lewis and Clark's expedition party of 1804 from starving and led them through and over the Bitterroot Mountains to the Columbia River. They fed them, gave the horses and sent them safely through. They were fabulous watermen, dog breeders and developed the appaloosa horse. A woman I knew who was 104 in 1984 told me of great dances near the teepee rings above my house. She danced with Chief Joseph's brother. This bronze is modeled after him.