Western Wildlife,Contemporary Bison painting
I’m currently completing a series of 6 paintings based on Native American legends. This painting is based on the legend: How the Bison Got His Hump. Here’s my retelling:
In the beginning days, the bison didn’t have a hump. He was fast and sleek and ran across the prairie having so much fun that he cared for nothing else. He didn’t notice (or didn’t care about) any small creature that got in his way. He trampled the birds and their fragile nests, he trampled the field mice, and the squirrels, and the foxes, and the rabbits. He crushed the flowers and the tender leaves that fed the prairie creatures. All of the creatures begged him to stay away, but Bison didn’t listen to them. He was having too much fun!
The birds and other small animals cried so loud that Great Mother heard them. She ran ahead of Bison and said, “You should be ashamed of yourself!” She hit him on the back with a stick, and Bison hunched up his shoulders and lowered his big head, to ward off another blow. But Great Mother didn’t hit him again. She said, “From now on you will always have a hump on your back and you will always carry your head low because of your shame.”
So this is why Bison has a hump, and why sometimes you see a happy bird or two on the back of a bison.
36"x24" Acrylic on Yupo//Available
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