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pease
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All works listed are available for acquisition. Send all artwork inquiries to info@benpeasevisions.com
“Confluence”
Oil on Canvas
48”x48”
By Joe Medicine Crow
From: Graetz, Rick, and Graetz, Susie. Crow Country: Montana’s Crow Tribe of Indians. Billings: Northern Rockies Publishing Company, 2000.
Medicine Crow was a warrior from the time he first went on the warpath at the age of fifteen until his last battle in 1877. He attained chieftaincy about 1870 at the age of twenty-two, and from then on he set the pace for aspiring young warriors of his people. Until his death in 1920, at the age of seventy-two, he was a "reservation chief," concerned with helping the Crow tribe "learn to live in the ways of the white man" as soon and as efficiently as possible. He went to see the Great Father in Washington many times on behalf of his people.
Medicine Crow, whose name is more accurately translated as Sacred Raven, was born somewhere in the Musselshell country in 1848. His father, also a great chief, was Jointed Together, and his mother was One Buffalo Calf. This was a time of trial for the Absarokee, for the population of the tribe had been reduced from more than 8,000 to fewer than 1,000 by the smallpox epidemic of the mid-1840’s. Now the tribe had to be made strong again, lest surrounding hostile tribes succeed in finishing the job the deadly pox had begun—annihilating the Crows. Boys had to become men quickly. The youth of the Absarokee accepted the challenge. Some died on the warpath, but those who survived, the boyhood friends of Medicine Crow, became great warriors and wise chieftains. Among these were Plenty Coups and Two Leggings, well known to the white man, and others such as Two Belly, Pretty Eagle, Old Crow, Bellrock, and many more.
Medicine Crow lived his first fifteen years much as his father and forefathers had. As a small boy, he heard the children’s tales. Then came the recitals of warriors’ deeds. He was trained to run, swim, wrestle, hunt, and ride. He learned the secrets of nature. He dreamed of becoming first a warrior and then, perhaps, a chief. Before that could happen, though, by the customs and religion of his people, he had to fast, seek a vision, and find his "medicine," those spirit helpers who protected and aided the fighting men of the Plains. It is believed that Medicine Crow sought his dream at least three times.
Throughout his life, Medicine Crow seemed able to see into the future, often into the very distant future. It was because of his dreams, and the fact that his people saw his seemingly impossible visions come to pass, that he was revered as a visionary medicine man. (He did not attempt to heal wounds or sickness.) On one occasion, the young seeker "saw" something black with round legs puffing smoke and pulling boxlike objects behind it coming down the Valley of Chieftains (the Little Bighorn River). Some thirty years later, in 1895, the Big Horn Southern Railroad was completed. In another vision, a white man came up from the east and said, "I come from the land of the rising sun, where many, many white men live. They are coming and will in time take possession of your land. At that time you will be a great chief of your tribe. Do not oppose these but deal with them wisely and all will turn out all right." A third vision revealed to Medicine Crow his future home. He saw a white-man’s type of house with a large corral nearby, situated on the top of a hill overlooking the junction of the Little Bighorn River and Lodge Grass Creek. About 1910 he built this house where he "saw" it so many years before. It was during his dreams that Medicine Crow gained his spirit helpers, the eagle and the large hawk that the Absarokee called the "Striped Tail."
As a youth of fifteen, Medicine Crow went on his first war party. He earned no honors but gained valuable experience. In the next nineteen years, he led the vigorous and often dangerous life of a Plains Indian warrior. For twelve of those years he was a war chief noted for his agility in hand-to-hand combat, his courage, and his dependability as a war party commander who usually brought his men back home not only safely but victoriously.
He was still a young man when he completed the Crow military requirements for attaining chieftaincy. All involved risking one’s life. These tests were as follows:
To touch or strike the first enemy fallen, whether alive or dead.
To wrestle a weapon away from an enemy warrior.
To enter an enemy camp at night and steal a horse.
To command a war party successfully.
Medicine Crow’s exploits are still spoken of by the old men of the Absarokee. He earned the right to be a chief many times over. He saw the nomadic life of the Plains change to the confinement of the reservation. In the fading winters of his life, he was beginning to discern the ultimate meaning of his boyhood vision: "If you deal wisely with these White Eyes, all will turn out all right and good for your people."
http://lib.lbhc.edu/about-the-crow-people/chiefs-and-leaders/chief-medicine-crow.php
48”x48”
By Joe Medicine Crow
From: Graetz, Rick, and Graetz, Susie. Crow Country: Montana’s Crow Tribe of Indians. Billings: Northern Rockies Publishing Company, 2000.
Medicine Crow was a warrior from the time he first went on the warpath at the age of fifteen until his last battle in 1877. He attained chieftaincy about 1870 at the age of twenty-two, and from then on he set the pace for aspiring young warriors of his people. Until his death in 1920, at the age of seventy-two, he was a "reservation chief," concerned with helping the Crow tribe "learn to live in the ways of the white man" as soon and as efficiently as possible. He went to see the Great Father in Washington many times on behalf of his people.
Medicine Crow, whose name is more accurately translated as Sacred Raven, was born somewhere in the Musselshell country in 1848. His father, also a great chief, was Jointed Together, and his mother was One Buffalo Calf. This was a time of trial for the Absarokee, for the population of the tribe had been reduced from more than 8,000 to fewer than 1,000 by the smallpox epidemic of the mid-1840’s. Now the tribe had to be made strong again, lest surrounding hostile tribes succeed in finishing the job the deadly pox had begun—annihilating the Crows. Boys had to become men quickly. The youth of the Absarokee accepted the challenge. Some died on the warpath, but those who survived, the boyhood friends of Medicine Crow, became great warriors and wise chieftains. Among these were Plenty Coups and Two Leggings, well known to the white man, and others such as Two Belly, Pretty Eagle, Old Crow, Bellrock, and many more.
Medicine Crow lived his first fifteen years much as his father and forefathers had. As a small boy, he heard the children’s tales. Then came the recitals of warriors’ deeds. He was trained to run, swim, wrestle, hunt, and ride. He learned the secrets of nature. He dreamed of becoming first a warrior and then, perhaps, a chief. Before that could happen, though, by the customs and religion of his people, he had to fast, seek a vision, and find his "medicine," those spirit helpers who protected and aided the fighting men of the Plains. It is believed that Medicine Crow sought his dream at least three times.
Throughout his life, Medicine Crow seemed able to see into the future, often into the very distant future. It was because of his dreams, and the fact that his people saw his seemingly impossible visions come to pass, that he was revered as a visionary medicine man. (He did not attempt to heal wounds or sickness.) On one occasion, the young seeker "saw" something black with round legs puffing smoke and pulling boxlike objects behind it coming down the Valley of Chieftains (the Little Bighorn River). Some thirty years later, in 1895, the Big Horn Southern Railroad was completed. In another vision, a white man came up from the east and said, "I come from the land of the rising sun, where many, many white men live. They are coming and will in time take possession of your land. At that time you will be a great chief of your tribe. Do not oppose these but deal with them wisely and all will turn out all right." A third vision revealed to Medicine Crow his future home. He saw a white-man’s type of house with a large corral nearby, situated on the top of a hill overlooking the junction of the Little Bighorn River and Lodge Grass Creek. About 1910 he built this house where he "saw" it so many years before. It was during his dreams that Medicine Crow gained his spirit helpers, the eagle and the large hawk that the Absarokee called the "Striped Tail."
As a youth of fifteen, Medicine Crow went on his first war party. He earned no honors but gained valuable experience. In the next nineteen years, he led the vigorous and often dangerous life of a Plains Indian warrior. For twelve of those years he was a war chief noted for his agility in hand-to-hand combat, his courage, and his dependability as a war party commander who usually brought his men back home not only safely but victoriously.
He was still a young man when he completed the Crow military requirements for attaining chieftaincy. All involved risking one’s life. These tests were as follows:
To touch or strike the first enemy fallen, whether alive or dead.
To wrestle a weapon away from an enemy warrior.
To enter an enemy camp at night and steal a horse.
To command a war party successfully.
Medicine Crow’s exploits are still spoken of by the old men of the Absarokee. He earned the right to be a chief many times over. He saw the nomadic life of the Plains change to the confinement of the reservation. In the fading winters of his life, he was beginning to discern the ultimate meaning of his boyhood vision: "If you deal wisely with these White Eyes, all will turn out all right and good for your people."
http://lib.lbhc.edu/about-the-crow-people/chiefs-and-leaders/chief-medicine-crow.php
Apsáalooke Women's Work Bag
Oil on canvas
60"x48" 2022
60"x48" 2022
“Gifts from Creator, In Washington”
Ink & Colored Pencil on 1897 Montana Ledger paper
11”x11”
11”x11”
“Kept in a Place and Made to Learn New WaysAll While Keeping the Old Ways Alive as Best as They Were Allowed with Ignored Promises of Good Cattle, Pensions, Housing, and Fresh Food….As Long As They Learned the New Ways and Gave More Land”
Oil, Acrylic, Cattle Marker, Oil pastel, inkjet on velvet paper
40”x52”
Original Photo taken at the Inauguration of the First Crow Indian Baptist Day School
40”x52”
Original Photo taken at the Inauguration of the First Crow Indian Baptist Day School
“Of the People, For the People”
Oil on Canvas
60”x48”
60”x48”
“Apsáalooke Workbag Abstract”
Oil on Canvas
48”x36”
48”x36”
“Half-Price, This Weekend Only”
Oil on Canvas
48”x36”
(Medicine Lodges Series)
48”x36”
(Medicine Lodges Series)
“This is Not An Indian”
Oil on Canvas
40”x30”
40”x30”
“Dismantling of Baapúxtahachkash”
8.457” x 10.747”
Ink, graphite, colored pencil on antique Montana Ledger Paper. 2022
The tiny birds carried pieces of the monsters to all corners of the earth. The Warrior who defeated the beasts called his four medicine arrows back to him and removed the hot stones from the insidious mouths. Baapúxtahachkash were dead, with their corpses feeding all the birds of the land. After this point, the Thunderbird fledglings could grow to maturity without molestation by the water monster pair.
As a gift, the Thunderbirds transformed the capable Warrior into a bald eagle at the man's request placing arrowhead shapes in his wing feathers as reminders. Finally, after many years and many more water beings slain, the man sat upon the banks of what is now the Elk(Yellowstone) River in Montana, de-lousing his plumage. Combing through the insects with his beak, he noticed the arrowhead pattern on his wings and remembered his life as a human, and became somewhat nostalgic. In time a consortium of powerful water beings captured the eagle man and built him a sweat lodge. The beings switched him in the dense hot steam until he confessed to his proper form.
"We do not wish to kill you, only to make you suffer, for you have already killed too many underwater beings. You are a person of the earth, go home, go back to your camp and become a human being again."
So, the powerful ones released him. Exiting the sweat lodge, he again transformed into his original human self. His people were nearby, and he went to them.
Ink, graphite, colored pencil on antique Montana Ledger Paper. 2022
The tiny birds carried pieces of the monsters to all corners of the earth. The Warrior who defeated the beasts called his four medicine arrows back to him and removed the hot stones from the insidious mouths. Baapúxtahachkash were dead, with their corpses feeding all the birds of the land. After this point, the Thunderbird fledglings could grow to maturity without molestation by the water monster pair.
As a gift, the Thunderbirds transformed the capable Warrior into a bald eagle at the man's request placing arrowhead shapes in his wing feathers as reminders. Finally, after many years and many more water beings slain, the man sat upon the banks of what is now the Elk(Yellowstone) River in Montana, de-lousing his plumage. Combing through the insects with his beak, he noticed the arrowhead pattern on his wings and remembered his life as a human, and became somewhat nostalgic. In time a consortium of powerful water beings captured the eagle man and built him a sweat lodge. The beings switched him in the dense hot steam until he confessed to his proper form.
"We do not wish to kill you, only to make you suffer, for you have already killed too many underwater beings. You are a person of the earth, go home, go back to your camp and become a human being again."
So, the powerful ones released him. Exiting the sweat lodge, he again transformed into his original human self. His people were nearby, and he went to them.
Apsaalooke Man Pencil Study
Graphite on paper
6.25" x 5.5"
2021
6.25" x 5.5"
2021
Pencil Line Study
Graphite on Bristol paper
12"x9" 2021
12"x9" 2021
"Bird-All-Over-the-Ground Study" SOLD
Private Collection "Bird-All-Over-the-Ground Study"
Graphite on cold press paper
4.25" x 5.5" 2021 SOLD
Graphite on cold press paper
4.25" x 5.5" 2021 SOLD
"Head-Smashed in Buffalo Jump #2"
"Head-Smashed in Buffalo Jump #2"
Graphite on cold press paper
5.5" x 6.5" 2020
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site that preserves and interprets over 6,000 years of Plains Buffalo culture. https://headsmashedin.ca
Graphite on cold press paper
5.5" x 6.5" 2020
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site that preserves and interprets over 6,000 years of Plains Buffalo culture. https://headsmashedin.ca
Isaac Plenty Hoops & Fred Dawes crica 1910
"Isaac Plenty Hoops & Fred Dawes crica 1910"
ballpoint pen on 1910's Continental Telegraph Co. correspondence.
8.5" x 7" 2020
Material study with a new ball-point pen.
ballpoint pen on 1910's Continental Telegraph Co. correspondence.
8.5" x 7" 2020
Material study with a new ball-point pen.
Another Pretty Shield
"Another Pretty-Shield"
9.625" x 8"
Graphite on paper
2019
Sketch featuring an Apsaalooke woman with the same name as "Pretty-Shield", arguably one of the most well-known Crow Indians in history. The original photo referenced in this sketch, is controversial as some have said this could be the earliest known image taken of the Medicine Woman of the Crow's.
9.625" x 8"
Graphite on paper
2019
Sketch featuring an Apsaalooke woman with the same name as "Pretty-Shield", arguably one of the most well-known Crow Indians in history. The original photo referenced in this sketch, is controversial as some have said this could be the earliest known image taken of the Medicine Woman of the Crow's.
“Old-Time Wise Men”
Acrylic, inkjet on velvet paper, Ink, antique ledger paper, antique fruit label, antique water bond
36”x48”
36”x48”
Thunderbird Rifle
Digital Painting print on 1919 antique check.
This digital work features the rifle of the White-Man-Runs-Him. The rifle itself is wrapped in rawhide and ornately decorated with beads and brass tacks which show a thunderbird insignia on the butt.
This digital work features the rifle of the White-Man-Runs-Him. The rifle itself is wrapped in rawhide and ornately decorated with beads and brass tacks which show a thunderbird insignia on the butt.
Prided Predjudice
Acrylic, Oil, Digital painting print on platine fibre rag on canvas.
48"x48" 2019.
Any questions or interests can be address directly to the Artist at art@benpeasevisions.com
48"x48" 2019.
Any questions or interests can be address directly to the Artist at art@benpeasevisions.com
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