“Black-leg Dancer”

The Kiowa were once hunters living at the source of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. They hunted with bow and arrow with the dog as their only domesticated animal. Legend has it that the tribe was divided by a quarrel which resulted in a faction of the tribe moving southeastward with the Kiowa Apaches to live with their friends, the Crows.

Those left behind were never heard from again. The Kiowa became masters of the plains, hunting the buffalo and consistently maintaining the largest horse herds. They had evolved a completely nomadic way of life. They gained horses, slaves and guns from the Spanish and evolved into one of the most feared tribes on the plains by their practice of predation, pillage and warfare. The warrior organization of the Kiowa consisted of six orders, each with dance, songs and ceremonial events.

The Black-leg order of the Kiowa warrior societies was composed of only the most eminent warriors. Also known as the “Real Dogs” they served as the camp police. Their two captains carried a crook shaped lance, with which they anchored themselves at the very front of a battle by means of buckskin straps brought over their shoulder. The leaders also carried long sticks with carvings and a fur pendant that was an emblem of their society. The Kiowa societies only met in the period of time between a Sun Dance announcement and the Sun Dance itself.

If one of the Black-leg Leaders arose and put loop of the stick around his wrist, all the members had to do the same and dance.

In the creation of this sculpture, I strive to recreate the powerful scene before the Sun Dance, as the leader of the Black-leg order rises in inspiration, grasping the society emblem, to initiate the dance.