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 President A. Lincoln graphite |
 Arnold Schwartzenegger digitally-colored graphite |
 US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton digitally-colored graphite |
 Morgan Freeman graphite |
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 Portrait of a jazz pianist graphite |
 Jay Wachter, "Mister Banjo" digitally-colored graphite |
 Bill Cosby from an ad for Jello pudding digitally-colored graphite |
 Colin Powell graphite |
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As a witness to the injustice inflicted upon the
Native American during the settlement of this country, I created the collage
of portraits shown at the right. It is my fervant prayer that all such barbarism shall cease. |
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I am very aware that similar, and perhaps worse injustices are being inflicted upon races and cultures in our world today; by singling out the Native American I am not attempting to imply that their plight is/was worse than that of any other culture or civilization. I am merely responding to my own cultural heritage; one that I cannot legally claim, since some of my forbears were ashamed to admit to any non-Caucasian ancestry in our family... |
 Chief Joseph, from a photo by Edward S. Curtis graphite |
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"The Virginia Charter of 1606 opens with the King's blessing on the
colonists 'in propagating the Christian religion to such people as live in
darkness and miserable ignorance...' The Charter of Connecticut asserted
that 'evangelization' was the 'onlye and principal end' for the Colony's
establishment. Likewise Pennsylvania and other colonies were founded with
the declared purpose of converting the Indians.. As settlers staked out their land claims, the 'poor savage' became a threat and hindrance rather than a potential brother in Christ... if the Indians refused the White man's civilization, including his work ethic, how could they be saved?" Ruth M. Tucker "They are the keenest and shrewdest animals in the world, with the added intelligence of human beings." Major Wirt Davis, 1885 "A miserable, brutal race, cruel, deceitful and wholly irreclaimable." General John Pope, 1880 "We took away their country and means of support, broke up their mode of living, their habits of life, introduced disease and decay among them. And it was for this and against this that they made war. Could anyone expect less?" General Philip Sheridan |
"If the White man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in
peace. There need be no trouble. Treat all men alike. Give them all the same
love. Give them all an equal chance to live and grow. All men were made by
the Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers. The earth is the mother of
all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it...whenever a
White man treats the Indian as they treat each other, then we will have no
more wars. We shall be alike-brothers of one father and one mother, with one
sky above us and one country around us and one government for all..." Chief Joseph, Nez Perce, 1879 "The pieces of treaty paper on which the Chiefs made their marks always said that we were to stop raiding, give up our captives, and stay on the reservation that the Great White Father was going to give us. It made no difference that the land he was giving us, and so much more besides, was already ours and always had been. We soon began to notice that each time we made a treaty, we lost a little more land, although each time we were told that the new reservation was to be ours 'forever.' We never fully understood that by 'forever,' the White man meant, 'until we want it for ourselves...' Kiowa woman |
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