Prairie Edge sent me a tease for Ledger
Art, as a place in history, and the lives of the Plains Indians. It joggled my
poor brain and brought
to mind the
winter count we have in the collections here.
As I understand, winter counts were (are)
records of events that happen over a period of time.
Usually one image for an important event each year.
I must put in a disclaimer here, that I
am a simple exhibit designer, not a historian. And though I pick up information
from my more scholarly co-workers, I might express it somewhat sideways (less
than factual).
Our winter count shows images for a flood
(1825), for a meteor shower (1833) the year that “the stars fell”, inter-tribal
tiffs, victories, hard winters, and 1838, second year of smallpox.
We are living this historic event, but so
too did people in the past. How might you depict an accounting of your life.
 |
| Winter Count by Waníyetu Wowápi Tȟá Matȟó Wakȟáŋ (Medicine Bear), Yanktonai Sioux, deer hide, ink, paint, ca. 1823-1911. Gift of Lee Enterprises, ex Col. Mathew Lohmiller, MHS 1976.14.01 |
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