The thunderbird is a supernatural bird-like spirit of the Blackfoot and other indigenous cultures of North America.
This painting is a narrative that is both personal and historic. I have an indigenous background and is what prompted me to create this series of work.
By combining the painted map from 1891as the background behind the indigenous scene, I am creating what I hope the viewer sees as an intriguing layer of meaning, highlighting themes of origin, history and heritage.  The viewer is invited to reflect on the relationship between the land and its people.
The map, which I hand painted onto the canvas, was commissioned by the government of Canada in 1891, at a time when the government was in Treaty negotiations with its indigenous people, moving them from the free open un-bordered spaces into the select restrictive boundaries of the reservation.
  While art offers the viewer an appreciation of the scene created by its form, colours, and composition, it sometimes can be more when it invokes conversation and discussion.
Art work is painted on the edges (1.5" canvas) and is mounted in a dark brown floater frame.