This man was a shirt wearer and a medicine man. The scalp locks upon his shirt testify to his prowess as a warrior; the arrangement of his hair serves as a symbol of his sacred office as a tribal leader and medicine man. (Harbaugh, P., 1982).
"The medicine wheels played an important part in the lives of native Americans as far back as 3000 BC For centuries, these stone rings helped provide information about solstices, equinoxes and other astrological orders. Colleen Cutschall's installation "Catching the Sun's Tail" focuses on the possible 'ritual' function of the medicine wheel as a medium uniting the human and the celestial forces. Human and spiritual symbolisms are both represented in this installation. The human element is presented in the silhouettes of figures joining in a circle around the wheel. The clouds, the buffalo skull and the lightbeams represent the mystical powers of the universe. The momentum of the harmonious union between man and the universe is captured in the interplay between these symbols. (M.S.)"
