Nobility of Mind

by James Ayers

Edition Size: 95

Crow Warrior

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Accoutrements and garments
In his hand, the warrior holds a ceremonial pipe with pipe bowl made from red pipestone (catlinite) and pipestem adorned with carving and beads. Not every member of the community was allowed to carry a pipe; rather, significant people in the tribal society were allowed to carry the pipe as an honor.
The man's deer hide shirt features locks of hair around the neckline. These hairlocks are symbolic of the warrior's loved ones, and served to remind him of the people he was protecting with his warfare. Notice the circular motif in the front of the shirt: such a design is typical of earlier 1800s war shirts and functioned like a coat of arms specific to the wearer. The circle was stitched with quillwork, which are individual porcupine quills, flattened with the teeth and then embroidered to the shirt. Quillwork was also used on the sleeves of the shirt. Also of interest are the painted bird motifs at the bottom edge of the garment. These birds are cliff swallows, which were a common design element for many Native American groups. You can read more about cliff swallows here: Cliff Swallows in Native American imagery.
There is a secret to this image.
Notice the feathers in the warrior's hair? Although you cannot see it fully, when I painted this work, I envisioned this man to have an entire woodpecker in his hair; woodpeckers were worn in order to give the wearer the bird's attributes of tenacity and strength.