The central warrior calls attention to the immediacy of an attack situation and is seen obscured and protected by the body of the horse. He can be interpreted as mounting his horse on the run from the reverse side of the viewer or actually riding the horse in this position. 

Plains horsemanship is legendary. In the aftermath of the plains wars, horsemanship and attacks would become the dramatized scenes of wild west shows. As a character he embodies both actual events and romanticized events that became the fiction of the West.

The horse emblems are in keeping with the largely invisible aspect of the rider. The image is of dragonflies connected by curvilinear power lines crossing over the rump and chest of the horse. The dragonfly is related to the fast moving and invisible aspects of wind. When painted on the war horse they imbue the horse with the qualities of swiftness and invisibility to the enemy. While not possible to illustrate in the sculpture, the iridescent color of dragonflies and the reflective light of its wings embody the wakan or magical qualities of this winged creature.

The warrior displays a sash recalling warrior societies in which members pledged to stake themselves to the ground and fight to the death. The horse blanket is a wolf hide, indicating the artist is present in the drawing. The warrior carries with him the coup stick, a high status object used for touching one’s enemy, not killing them. Great honour was bestowed on the warrior who was able to count coup on his enemy. 

Great acts of bravery or self sacrifice were deemed more status than the “kill”. While these more ritualistic forms of plains skirmishes may seem archaic, they hold a teaching still relevant today about knowing your enemy rather than killing them.

Woman and Last Warrior  ~ First Warrior 

Central Warrior
being assembled

Assembly of the
central warrior