The Native Spirit Center is pleased to have new Dee Crawford art piece thanks to her brother Michael.This art was donated as part of potlatch or patshatl. Dee Crawford Designs
Creating these designs is more than capturing an image in time. It's a passion, the way Dee captures and celebrates the souls of her subjects. These hand-painted originals come straight from the heart! Dee's work is inspired by a combination of a passion for creating art, the love of animals, and the admiration of the beauty of animals, wild and domestic.
Dee is actively involved with a number of animal organizations including the Roar Foundation (Shambala Preserve), Wolves-N-Wildlife, Linda Blair's World Heart Foundation, HSUS Hollywood, and Best Friends Animal Society.
A portion of all art proceeds benefit the animals portrayed in Dee's work.
The Native Spirit Center is pleased to have great new selections in
our library thanks to David Kays Books of Woodland Hills.This art was
donated as part of potlatch or patshatl.
The Native Spirit Center is pleased to display new artwork drawings.
This art was donated as part of potlatch or patshatl.
The Native Spirit Center is pleased to display the Chickasaw Nation Flag and tell its story.
This flag was donated as part of potlatch or patshatl by Karl Maples.
The Chickasaw Nation, one of the five "civilized" Nations of Oklahoma,
was constituted on 4 March 1856, after its forced removal from the banks
of the Mississippi (ENAT, 53-54). Its constitution was adopted 16
August 1867 and its tribal seal designed in 1907 (FBUS, 255-256). The
original capital, Tishomingo, was named for the last great war chief of
the Chickasaw. An image of Tishomingo dominates the tribal seal and the
flag.
The Chickasaw flag is indigo and bears a full-color representation of
the seal of the Nation (sample flag provided by the Chickasaw Nation,
Tishomingo, Oklahoma). The orange (or gold) and light purple bands
encircling the seal symbolize the purity and honor of the Chickasaw
people. The warrior, besides depicting the beloved Tishomingo, stands
for all Chickasaw (The Great Seal of the Chickasaw Nation, undated,
unsigned letter from The Chickasaw Nation Headquarters).
Chief Tishomingo carries two arrows, which stand for the two historical
divisions of the Chickasaw, the forest dwellers and the town dwellers.
The chief wears four head feathers, representing the four prime
directions of the compass. The bow, traditionally made of hickory,
symbolizes the hunting prowess of the Chickasaw warrior and his
willingness to defend his
people. The quiver, made of deerskin and decorated with white fur,
reinforces the same ideals. Stretching across Chief Tishomingo's
shoulder is a warrior's mantle, traditionally made of swan feathers. His
deerskin shield symbolizes the
protection Chickasaw warriors offer their people. The deerskin
kneestraps represent the fleetness of the Chickasaw warrior (NAVA News,
Mar./Apr. 1989, 6).
The river in the background recalls the Mississippi, a Chickasaw word
meaning "without source". The foliage represents the flora found along
the Mississippi, the ancient homeland of the Chickasaw.
Although the Chickasaw have lived in Oklahoma for almost 150 years,
their hearts still lie along the banks of the Mississippi. Their tribal
seal and therefore their flag recall their days in the east, a time when
their heritage blossomed, their history, pride, and glory achieved its
zenith, a time that they will not forget. (The Confederate States of
America apparently created flags for each of its allies in the five
Civilized Nations; unfortunately the design presented to the Chickasaw
Nation is not known.)
www.chickasaw.com stated:
The Bicentennial Committee of Ardmore, Oklahoma, determined as one of
the city's projects for the two hundredth anniversary of the founding of
the United States to seek seven sets of the 14 flags that have flown
over Oklahoma in the history of this continent. Although it was an easy
and inexpensive matter to obtain 12 of those flags, the making of the
Chickasaw and Choctaw flags proved to be too expensive.
In the spring of 1975, the committee asked the members of the Ardmore
Indian Arts and Crafts organization to make the two tribal flags by
hand. The first flag was completed in May of that year. Those who worked
on making the flags were:
Mrs. Clifford Roland (Tommie), a Choctaw
Ms. Ruby McMillian, a Chickasaw-Choctaw
Ms. Debbie Farve, a Chickasaw-Choctaw
Ms. Era Carney, a Chickasaw
Mr. Cecil Carney, a Chickasaw
Ms. Norma Griffin, a Choctaw
Ms. Ramona Pope, a Chickasaw
Ms. Janet Wallace, a Chickasaw
These people designed seven Chickasaw and seven Choctaw flags for use by
the City of Ardmore. The flags were officially raised on the streets of
Ardmore on July 4, 1975. After that date, the flags were flown on
holidays and on other special events. Now they are flown every day.
The flags were made from new sheets, hemmed for extra strength. Metal
rings were sewn into the flags for the flag rope
and the great seals of the tribes were affixed with liquid embroidery
paint. The first seal proved too small, and Mr. Les Wildman, a member of
the bicentennial committee, enlarged the seal. The completed flag
measured three feet by five feet, the standard flag size.
After the Ardmore flags were completed, eight flags were commissioned by
Governor Overton James for the use of the Chickasaw Nation. It was at
this time that blue was used as the background color in the Chickasaw
Nation flag.
Source: crwflags
