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Article by
Chase
Reynolds Ewald American Cowboy Magazine
July-September
2002
Sonny Tuttle
Sonny Tuttle
Owner/Director
Box 388
Lander, WY 82520
307-332-2134
Cell 307-349-1817
info@spirithides.com |
BEST OF THE WEST
A HERITAGE ON HIDES
The Past is the Present for Sonny
Tuttle & Red Nations Art
For sonny Tuttle, a person’s heritage, life, and art are
intertwined. Tuttle, the founder of Red Nations Art, was born on the
Pine Ridge Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, and has lived on the
Wind River Reservation in Wyoming for the past 45 years. He was
raised learning and honoring the traditional ways of the Sioux
people, an emphasis instilled by his father. “I learned from my
father and Arapahoe stepfather all kinds if Indian art,” he says.
“We made all manner of regalia and cultural art.”
Tuttle was and still is a dancer on the powwow circuit, and has
raised his 5 children as dancers as well. Family members routinely
place in dance contests throughout North America. At powwows they
are surrounded by traditional costumes and accouterments, and have
been able to absorb, master, and help perpetuate the highly refined
skills that are necessary to make those traditional things:
beadwork, leatherwork, painting, porcupine quill work, and more.
Given this immersion, it is no surprise that all of Tuttle’s
children are artistic. His daughter Brandy, whose mother was a
Flathead Indian, is a good beader. His stepdaughter Sissy and his
daughter Tina, whose mother is a potter from the Acoma Pueblo, both
paint for him, as does Brandy and his nephew, Reggie Roan Eagle, a
Sioux/Arapaho. The extended family that comprises Red Nations Art
now represents the Sioux, Arapaho, Flathead, Yakima, Acoma, and
Navajo nations. “We believe we’re the only family group in the
country that does this,” says Tuttle, now of Lander, Wyo.
Although he appreciates the significance of all manner of
traditional art, 20 years ago Tuttle decided to specialize in
traditional hide paintings. The elk, deer, and buffalo hides serve
as canvas for paintings depicting various legends of the Plains
Indian peoples. Tuttle will occasionally use moose and antelope
hides as well. All the elk and deer hides are taken by hunters,
while the buffalo hides come from ranches in Wyoming and Montana.
The hides have already been tanned when Tuttle receives them, though
he prepares them further. “They’re oil-tanned in a way that
approaches brain-tanning,” he says. The resulting leather is soft,
with a natural cream-to-white color. Hides are left with the hair on
for stability. “We dampen them, re-stretch them, then scrape them to
bring up the nap,” Tuttle explains. “Then we paint.”
The buffalo hides have a particular significance. “Buffalo hides
were worn hair-in for the warmth and with the painting outside to
represent the exploits or power of the robe’s owner. Such robes were
essential for survival on the winter plains, as was every part of
the sacred animal’s body. The buffalo is chief of the four-leggeds
and benefactor of the people.
“There are a number of legends that we specialize in,” he continues.
“No two paintings are alike, because of differences in size and
shape of the hides, and because they are painted by different people
in the family. We paint with acrylics and use an instrument to rub
the paint into the pores of the hide.” Each hide comes with a
“legend sheet” that explains the meaning and significance of the
legends depicted, all of which are common to the northern Plains
tribes.
“They Return Victorious” is a petroglyph-type War Story design often
found on the robes of warriors in buffalo days. It shows a group of
warriors on running horses, weapons held aloft, returning from a
battle. “They have fought for their nation and the helpless ones,”
Tuttle says. “They return with war trophies as evidence of their
victory.” The lower portion of the robe depicts tail bustles around
a central altar, referring to the Tail Dance Ceremony, often
performed to obtain spiritual blessings before a major undertaking.
Eagle fans in each corner bring power from the four directions,
while an outside border represents the trail taken to find the
enemy.
“Horse Dreaming Medicine,” painted on a buffalo hide, depicts a herd
of spirit horses circling the medicine dreamer’s body. Says Tuttle:
“Their hooves echo thunder, and lightning flashes from their eyes.
The robe’s power protects, and it inspires the dreamer to great
deeds. Such a person will lead the people to safety and prosperity.”
Both robes have deer-toe ornaments, whose rattling simulates the
sound of buffalo walking, assuring further good fortune.
Tuttle sells his work mostly through galleries and interior
designers, but Red Nations Artwork, as well as that of many other
top-quality traditional Native American artists, can be found at the
Jackson Hole Celebration of Indian Arts. The annual all-Indian show,
produced by Tuttle under the auspices of the Teton Village Merchants
Association, will take place July 18-21. “Artists come from all over
the West, and we bring a dance team from the Wind River Reservation.
There’s a tremendous cross section of art from throughout Indian
country: pottery, kachinas, weavings, baskets, silverwork, and rugs.
We show a lot of Plains Indian art, like regalia, and a lot of rock
sculpture from various tribes, and a number of artists who paint
about their culture on canvas.
Tuttle has devoted his life to the perpetuation of traditional ways.
The art of Red Nations helps ensure that the culture of the Plains
tribes is passed on to future generations. “We believe that
traditional art, expressed in museum-quality cultural items, is one
of the best ways of keeping the beauty of the Native arts alive for
the enrichment of generations to come. The old nomadic people
expressed nearly all of their rich art in the cultural and religious
objects that were used daily. Many of these items are as meaningful
and useful today as they were in the days of the buffalo.”
For more information on the Jackson Hole Celebration of Indian Arts,
contact Tuttle at (307) 349-1817.
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