Oglala Offerings

by James Ayers

Edition Size: 95

Lakota Tribe

About Oglala Offerings
Deep in the Black Hills of South Dakota--known as Paha Sapa in Lakota--three holy men prepare offerings for the Great Spirit (Wakhan Thanka). They have come to this hallowed ground specifically for its powerful and holy qualities. They bring important messages with them along with the offerings.
Each man is adorned differently and performs a different task as they pray.
The man in the lower right places dried sage and pine in a bowl to burn as incense. He is a “shirt wearer”, meaning he holds a special place of honor in his tribe as a protector. You can read more about shirt wearers here: The Chief’s New Gun. Next to him lies a medicine bundle, which contains many sacred objects: hawk feathers with locks of hair and red catlinite stones.
The man in the upper right raises an eagle-wing fan to the Great Spirit. Holding an eagle wing fan during prayer was typically reserved for a select few who had high status and had earned this privilege. Additionally, it served to fan the incense smoke towards the sky and the user.
The man on the left holds a Chanunpa or ceremonial pipe. His pipe features a red catlinite pipestone bowl, traditional for pipes of this area and vintage. They would smoke a locally grown tobacco, the smoke of which would carry their prayers to the Great Spirit.
About the sacred nature of this painting
I am very careful when depicting any religious activities--it is paramount to me to not intrude on the religious practices of the people I depict.
The model for this print--himself an Oglala man--was comfortable with the subject matter of the painting and my composition. He and his mother (who was also present at the modeling session) were pleased that the prayers would be depicted in a respectful, artful way.
About the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota
The Oglala warriors featured in this painting belong to a sub-group of the Lakota.
When I was a child, I learned that the Great Plains warriors that captured my imagination were called the “Sioux.” This term, originally coined by French trappers from an Algonquin word, has fallen out of favor--now replaced by the traditional names the people used for themselves.