Cherokee Nation And Indian Art

“I’ve painted on everything under the sun— canvas, black velvet and more canvas.
Eventually, customers requested “the hides—what my people painted on a long time ago,” he explained. “They go the best, and they dry the fastest, so the buyer can pick them up in a shorter time. I don’t have any problems selling them.”

"Paha Ska has a unique art done on hide.., his art is the pictograph telling the story. Much of his art has spiritual meanings as shown by the shadows of the ghost figures." -Sherman MacVenn

PAHA SKA

Ogalla Sioux Tribe

Paha Ska, in English means “White Hills”. The rugged, barren, white sandstone hills are typical of the Badlands of South Dakota.

He was born in 1923 in the village of Pine Ridge, and is an enrolled member of the Ogalla Sioux Tribe.

Paha Ska is a self-taught artist and he feels strongly that this has kept his art as true to traditional Indian philosophy as possible.

In most of Paha Ska’s paintings there is evidence of strong spiritual meaning. This can easily be seen and is often emphasized by the use of silhouettes. However, this must be assessed with the paintings themselves for one to truly understand their meanings.

Paha Ska moved from reservation life in Pine Ridge to the Black Hills, settling in the area of Keystone. Here, he has spent the past twenty years painting his people and their way of life.

The Black Hills are considered sacred by many of the Sioux, and it is the only place Paha Ska feels he can paint the Indian.
 

Ogalla Sioux artist Paha Ska works on "The Victor," depicting a buffalo goring a fallen Sioux brave during a hunt on the Great Plains. (Photo by Lisa Palmeno)

Native American artist Paha Ska paints from his heart, using natural dyes on animal hides, in the old, traditional way. 

Prints of some of the work, not on hides, are available in sizes 18’ x 24” up to 26’ x 38”. Some are limited editions, signed and numbered.

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