Susan Shimeld
Wildlife Artist and Natural History Illustrator
Since childhood I have always been interested in and greatly respected the Native American Indian way of life. Many moons ago I purchased a greetings card for a friend displaying a photo of an Indian, plus words of wisdom beneath the image. I liked the picture so much I photocopied it and displayed it on my wall.
I have always loved the character and features in the face of my Native American Indian and his image, plus the words of wisdom that accompanied it, touched me deeply. With the passing of time though the image faded, and I realised I ought to draw him before he disappeared completely. Having never portrayed a person before, my pencil drawing of his portrait was a new challenge for me.
During the 1980's, two friends introduced me to The Onaway Trust by kindly giving me a gift of membership.
The Onaway Trust was established in 1974 with the overall objective of relieving poverty and suffering especially for Indigenous Cultures - particularly Native Americans. Sadly, like so many indigenous peoples throughout the world, the civil and religious rights of all Native Americans have been ignored. To this day many tribes still live on degraded land with unsafe drinking water, crumbling sewage systems and pollution from open dumps. As I was happy with my finished artwork I realised that this could also be an opportunity for me to help The Onaway Trust.
I was keen to learn about my American Indian and it was important to me to find out who he was, when he was born, the tribe to which he had belonged and where he had lived. So began my quest.
After making numerous enquiries - all to no avail - I was delighted to receive a reply from George Horse Capture a Native American anthropologist and writer working with the National Anthropological Archives at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
George explained that the man in the image was Wolf Robe or Honii-Wotoma (Honihewoomah) of the Southern Cheyenne. According to their records, Chief Wolf Robe was born in 1841 and his home was Bridgeport, Caddo County, Oklahoma. Apparently he was a well-known chief who, probably as part of a delegation, visited Washington DC several times ca.1909. The photographer was most likely a man called DeLancey Gill.
I very much appreciated the help given by everyone that I spoke with regarding my artwork of Chief Wolf Robe. Special thanks to Daisy and the staff from the NAA and to George Horse Capture for his kindness and help.
I thoroughly enjoyed drawing Chief Wolf Robe and through him have met some very kind and interesting people. My journey with my pencil drawing of Chief Wolf Robe also reintroduced me to old friends.
Native American Indian - Chief Wolf Robe - Fine Art Prints, Greetings Cards and the original pencil portrait are available from my Gallery Shop. From the sale of my 'Chief Wolf Robe' pencil drawing and with the sale of each 'Chief Wolf Robe' Fine Art Print and Greetings Card, a donation is given to charity.
Wildlife Artist and Natural History Illustrator
| Chief Wolf Robe | |||
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© Susan Shimeld |
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Since childhood I have always been interested in and greatly respected the Native American Indian way of life. Many moons ago I purchased a greetings card for a friend displaying a photo of an Indian, plus words of wisdom beneath the image. I liked the picture so much I photocopied it and displayed it on my wall.
I have always loved the character and features in the face of my Native American Indian and his image, plus the words of wisdom that accompanied it, touched me deeply. With the passing of time though the image faded, and I realised I ought to draw him before he disappeared completely. Having never portrayed a person before, my pencil drawing of his portrait was a new challenge for me.
During the 1980's, two friends introduced me to The Onaway Trust by kindly giving me a gift of membership.
The Onaway Trust was established in 1974 with the overall objective of relieving poverty and suffering especially for Indigenous Cultures - particularly Native Americans. Sadly, like so many indigenous peoples throughout the world, the civil and religious rights of all Native Americans have been ignored. To this day many tribes still live on degraded land with unsafe drinking water, crumbling sewage systems and pollution from open dumps. As I was happy with my finished artwork I realised that this could also be an opportunity for me to help The Onaway Trust.
I was keen to learn about my American Indian and it was important to me to find out who he was, when he was born, the tribe to which he had belonged and where he had lived. So began my quest.
After making numerous enquiries - all to no avail - I was delighted to receive a reply from George Horse Capture a Native American anthropologist and writer working with the National Anthropological Archives at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
George explained that the man in the image was Wolf Robe or Honii-Wotoma (Honihewoomah) of the Southern Cheyenne. According to their records, Chief Wolf Robe was born in 1841 and his home was Bridgeport, Caddo County, Oklahoma. Apparently he was a well-known chief who, probably as part of a delegation, visited Washington DC several times ca.1909. The photographer was most likely a man called DeLancey Gill.
I very much appreciated the help given by everyone that I spoke with regarding my artwork of Chief Wolf Robe. Special thanks to Daisy and the staff from the NAA and to George Horse Capture for his kindness and help.
I thoroughly enjoyed drawing Chief Wolf Robe and through him have met some very kind and interesting people. My journey with my pencil drawing of Chief Wolf Robe also reintroduced me to old friends.
Native American Indian - Chief Wolf Robe - Fine Art Prints, Greetings Cards and the original pencil portrait are available from my Gallery Shop. From the sale of my 'Chief Wolf Robe' pencil drawing and with the sale of each 'Chief Wolf Robe' Fine Art Print and Greetings Card, a donation is given to charity.
| 'Judge not by the eye, but from the heart' |
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Cheyenne Wisdom |
| -Lose your temper and you lose a friend; lie and you lose yourself. |
Hopi |
| Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught, will we realise that we cannot eat money. |
Cree Wisdom. 1909. |
| For more Native American Wisdoms please visit my Wisdoms and Quotations page. |
'Nature in Art'
Original Paintings, Fine Art Prints & Greetings Cards
Original Paintings, Fine Art Prints & Greetings Cards
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All Artwork, Images & Content © Susan Shimeld. 2002. All rights reserved.
