Gispawaweda

by Jammey Huggins

Size: 14x18x6
Medium: Bronze
Edition Size: 30

"A man who spends 2 years living with a black bear, who teaches him how to catch salmon and build canoes. When Gispawaweda returns to his village, everyone is afraid of him because he looks like a bear, cannot speak, and will not eat boiled meat. The people rub him with medicine until his human form returns. Afterward. whenever he has difficulties, he goes to the mountains to find his friend the bear. In the winter, when no one else can catch salmon, Bear catches salmon and gives it to him. Gispawaweda paints a picture of the beast on his house. His sister's dance apron is decorated with Bear's image, and all her descendants use the bear crest. In order to make the legend more visual I have added a fish symbol and the symbol for the four seasons. The fish symbol is from pottery found at the Galaz Ruin, a prehistoric Mimbres village in Southwestern New Mexico. It was added to represent the salmon. The symbol thought to represent the four seasons is from an Anasazi petroglyph." -Jammey

Price: $5900
Scottsdale Phone: 480-949-7003