Ten Thousand Prayers At Night
Following a vivid and compelling dream in April 2000, I found myself writing a biography of a Ute woman named Chipeta. Over the next four years I traced Chipeta’s history from the American Southwest to traditional Ute lands along the Uncompahgre River, Colorado Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. Ever since I saw the rock art and petroglyphs on the red sandstone canyons of this region, I was fascinated. These ancient images seemed to jump off the sandstone, charging the air with spiritual ancestral energy. These were the recorded stories of the People who inhabited the region for centuries. I saw art that depicted many events—including the signing of treaties with the United States Government prior to the forceful removal of the Ute tribes to reservations. Later I would help the Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne Tribes of Oklahoma, produce four books for their young children. Histories written and illustrated by the members of the tribes as well as me.
While working with other tribes in writing workshops, I learned much about the spiritual relationship the tribes had, and still have, with the earth, sky, and the creatures who exist there. The Milky Way was a place where Ancestors went when they passed so they could watch over their loved ones on Earth. I heard prayers in the old languages from long ago, remembered by the elders of the tribes. Songs and dances expressed gratitude to the Creator for another day or to celebrate a special event. My experiences over this period of time changed my life, my art, and my writing.
Journal sketches from my travels eventually became art at the encouragement of an art instructor, Homare Ikeda. He encouraged me to capture the spiritual energy of my experiences through paint and other mediums. Rock art symbols and my own experience growing up with Catholic imagery inspired me; I added some elements of each to my artwork to share my story with others. Each painting had its own voice and seemed to direct my hands and heart. Dots, lines, and shapes became prayers, and vibrant colors filled my canvases with palpable energy.
My time with the tribes taught me that I didn’t really know my own ancestry. I felt compelled to do more research and spent time working on my own genealogy. I learned that rock art is universal and can be seen around the world; from the caves in Lascaux, to tribes in Africa, and my own Nordic Ancestors. While the imagery changes from culture to culture, its power of meaning and communication is the same. It is in this universal language of life and prayer I share my art.
Vickie Leigh Krudwig
the Story Teller
Acrylic on Canvas
11” X 14”
SOLD
Where would we be without the storyteller? Whether inside a warm teepee in the winter, or around a campfire in the summer, stories were told to keep the histories of the People alive. From rock art to the oral tradition, stories are and always will be a crucial part of world’s diverse cultures. One thing that moved me while working with the tribes, was the fact that children learned about life, their history, and ancestors through special stories. Our own familial stories help keep our heritages alive, while remembering our ancestors.
Morning Star
Acrylic on Canvas
22” X 28”
$695.00
Just before our walk to remember the ancestors who lived before us, we gathered in the dark to greet the morning sun. We stood in front of Chipeta’s tomb and the grave of her brother John McCook. The ceremony was led by Chief Arvol Looking Horse, who was given the daunting task of becoming the 19th generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe for the Lakota, Dakota, and North Dakota Nations. We stood shoulder to shoulder shivering from the cool morning air and the anticipation of smoking the Canupa (sacred Pipe). Prayers were offered, and a pipe, not THE Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe, was passed from person to person to smoke and to wash in the sacred smoke of the tobacco. We came from all walks of life, humbled to be there with each other, offering blessings and our gratitude to the Ancestors and for the journeys each of us were on. Just as the last person smoked the pipe and passed it to Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the sun broke over the horizon. A song in the Ancient language lifted high into the morning air sent shivers down my spine. That morning was Holy in every way.
In Harmony We Walk
Acrylic on Canvas
16” X 20”
SOLD
In May 2010 I sat in the sacred Wiesbaden caves of Ouray, Colorado weeping bitterly. It had been a decade since my journey began to write about Chipeta’s life and experiences, and those of her Ute People. I had fulfilled a promise I made to her and the Ancestors. Chipeta was my constant companion through the book project, and I had become accustomed to calling her Grandmother, and sensing her presence. she visited often in my early morning dreams, guiding me, and lifting me up when I was feeling discouraged or anxious. I had returned to the place where the blessing was first given by Chipeta’s descendant.
I had just finished other book projects with the Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho in Oklahoma, and presented “Preservation Through Print” workshops to many tribes located throughout the country at the National Indian Education Association. My connection to the tribes and to their Ancestors was hard to put into words. My art became my story.
I soaked in the heated pool of the ancient healing caves where Ute and other tribes visited. I knew my time with the tribes had come to an end. Chipeta gently let me know my promise was fulfilled and released me. I no longer felt her daily presence and the dreams diminished. Still, she is my constant companion in my heart and soul, and I will always be grateful for her presence in my life.
Ancient Voices
Acrylic on Canvas
16” X 20”
$595.00
When watching the dancers at a Pow Wow, it’s easy to be transported across time and space. Drumming, singing, and dancing are sacred prayers to the Ancestors who shared their histories of the past. It is history being relived in the memory of song and dance, being shared with younger generations and future descendants. Voices raised in solemn remembrance of what once was. I can feel these voices in my heart saying. “never forget.”
Fancy Dancer
Acrylic on Canvas
22” X 28”
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My heart filled with joy as the women stepped onto the dance area under the cottonwood trees. Beautiful shawls and beaded regalia looked like a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes. The drummers put their hearts into the beat and their voices lifted into the blue skies of the western slopes. Slowly the women moved their bodies and feet to the heartbeat of the music, fringe swaying, and arms lifted with reverence and joy, giving the Fancy Dancers flight in the morning air.
Constant Companions
Acrylic on Canvas
8” X 10”
$95.00
We are never alone even when we are in solitude. The voices of long-gone ancestors are there watching over us and keeping us close as we travel to unknown destinations.
Family Matters
Acrylic on Canvas
11” X 14”
$195.00
Family connections were, and still are an important part of a person’s community. Chipeta’s family ties were crucial to the health and well-being of the tribe as a whole. Everyone, even children, had a role in the community. They were taught at an early age to respect, obey, and learn from their elders. They learned how to live in the world by playing with smaller replicas of everyday tools the adults used.
My work with the tribes reminded me of my own family relationships, and how important they are. I found a greater love for my family, and came to understand the importance of staying connected to them.
Grandmother’s Love
Acrylic on Canvas
16” X 20”
$595.00
“Come children, let me tell you story.” These are the words Chipeta was said to have spoken when children were around. She loved children, and would even adopt those who needed a family. A mother’s love, a grandmother’s love cannot be measured. It is deeper than the ocean and bigger than a night sky.
Warrior Woman Within
Acrylic on Canvas
8” X 10”
SOLD
I have had moments in my life, especially during my work with the tribes, where fear and doubt filled me with dread. I wanted to quit and retreat to the safety of my old way of living, one I was unhappy in. Then, I had the dream. Chipeta guided me forward in a world I did not know. “Have courage.” she told me.
I continued my journey, and my friends in the tribes began to call me “Warrior Woman”. I fought my way through criticism and the fear of failure. I drove over the Rocky Mountains for the first time by myself to finish Chipeta’s book. I traveled to Oklahoma and met with the many Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho descendants whose lives were drastically and negatively impacted by the arrival of Europeans in their territories. I had gathered my strength and looked the People in the eyes and acknowledged their pain and anger.
Wounded Knee and the Sand Creek Massacre were a few of the stories I heard directly from the elders whose Ancestors survived to talk about those horrific times. I knew I had to be brave enough to hear and internalize their stories! I could not quit; I made a promise to the Ancestors and to their descendants to help them tell their stories. It was during these projects that I called upon the Warrior Woman within me to overcome defeating thoughts.
Cosmic Dance
Acrylic on Canvas
20” X 20”
$495
My spirit soars when I am outside under a big, beautiful blanket of stars. Scientists will tell you that the elements found in the stars are the same elements that created the building blocks of life - carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, etc. I love the thought that we are part of the stars and they are part of us.
Starry Contemplation
Acrylic on Canvas
11” X 14”
$145.00
There is something magical about the night sky, knowing that our ancestors (mine being Viking and Celtic) looked up into the black of night marveling at the millions of stars floating overhead. I love the thought of early peoples around the world sitting fireside, looking up into the vast reaches of space. A place of beginnings and legends of how the People came to be. In my Nordic heritage, Viking navigators found their way through the fjords of Norway and the open seas through the starscapes before them.
Blue Light
Acrylic on Canvas
24” X 36”
$895.00
We made our way across the desert landscape at midnight while stars shone overhead. Looking out of the train’s window I couldn’t help but think of the ancestors who once rode their ponies across the vast regions of Colorado. My heart lurched; the truth was, the people had been forcibly moved to reservations in Utah and southwestern Colorado. My sorrow and shame were great. I felt the Ancestors there, bathed in the blue light of the moon. “Remember us” they whispered.
Pony Express
Acrylic on Canvas
16” by 20”
$595.00
Living in Colorado, I had always known the the story of the Ute people, along with the Cheyenne, Arapahoe, and countless other tribes who lived and hunted in the region. As children we would find arrowheads laying on the ground following a heavy rainstorm. Washed clean and bright, the flint chips and points reminded us that others had once called this region home. I used to feel the presence of the ancestors in the aspen glens where I played as a little girl. Later, as we drove across the highways and byways of the Great Plains and Foothills of the the Rockies, I could imagine ponies running across the deserts of the Southwest and into the mountains. Hooves pressing into the soil, leaving dust clouds and impressions of their passing from one place to another under Colorado skies.
Star Songs
Acrylic on Canvas
12” X 12”
$245.00
When I worked with the Southern Cheyenne on their history books for children, tribal elders told their story of the Milky Way, and how the spirit of a deceased person (tasoom) resided there in the afterlife. These departed ancestors were often referred to as the Sky People. At night when I look up into the sky at the stars, I think of these ancestors looking down upon us all. A bright light and a comfort when confronting my own mortality.
Moon Maiden
Acrylic on Canvas
11” X 14”
SOLD
The moon is and has always been an important part of a tribe’s culture. Although different tribes have different names for it, it was universally used for marking time and activities associated with the seasons.
Ten Thousand Prayers at Night
Acrylic on Canvas
16” X 20”
SOLD
When I first set eyes on the Delta Council Tree, I was stunned at its 7 foot diameter trunk, and its 85 foot height. Gnarly branches twisted here and there, and up to the morning sky. This had been the tree where the Ute held councils over the past century. Large gaping holes, left when branches snapped off in the wind, held the prayers of visitors. Bundles of sacred tobacco, pieces of turquoise and other precious stones, and arrowheads, all nestled in the tree. The smell of burning tobacco filling the air, but we walked around the tree and saw no source. There were no other persons around and we knew that we were being welcomed by the ancestors.
Coming Home
Acrylic on Canvas
16” X 20”
$595.00
Throughout my work with the Indigenous tribes, I felt a longing that I could not describe. There was a deep connection I felt to the past through the many dreams I had. There seemed to be no logic, simply a sense that I wanted, and needed more in my life. When I danced with my moccasins on, heard prayers in the native tongues of my friends, the longing grew even more. I wanted to belong to the People. I realized that what I really wanted was to remember my own history, like they recalled theirs. I knew little about my past ancestors, where they came from; and I knew little about myself. Following in Chipeta’s footsteps and writing her history helped me uncover my own strengths and weaknesses, and the longing I had for connection. Years later, through my experiences, introspection, and creating my art, I can say I am home at last.