Ojuha: Indigenous Connection to COLOR

Sunday, June 14

2-5 pm

For hundreds of years, Native American tribes of the Plains, Plateau, and Basin regions crafted containers from hard animal skin. This untanned, natural skin—sourced from deer, elk, and buffalo—is known as rawhide.

The designs painted on these containers were representational, geometric, and abstract, each rich in meaning and unique to specific regions and tribal nations. They told creation stories, conveyed star knowledge, expressed spiritual beliefs, and embodied virtues and values. Certain designs were particular to individual Tribal Nations, Indigenous families, women's guilds, and men's societies across the different regions.

Natural paint pigments were derived from berries, rocks, and plants, then mixed with hide glue. The finished containers were coated with a solution made from plant starches, gelatin, and gum fiber to preserve and protect them.

These vessels served a wide range of purposes: holding spiritual items, feathers, food, clothing, medicines, tools, weapons, and other everyday essentials.

For centuries, these containers have been misidentified as "parfleche," a term used by French fur traders to describe Native American shields, also made of rawhide. The word parfleche literally translates as "stop arrow." Over time, the term was broadly applied to any item made from rawhide, a misidentification that persists to this day.

$25 General Admission

$20 Members

Steve Tamayo’s Bio

Steve Tamayo draws upon his family history as a member of the Sicangu Lakota tribe. His fine arts education (BFA from Singe Gleska University), along with his cultural upbringing, have shaped him as an artist, historian, storyteller and dancer. Steve provides activities during his residencies that include art and regalia making, drumming, powwow dance demonstrations and lectures on the history, symbolism and meaning behind the Native customs and traditions.

Steve has considerable experience developing curricula and teaching both youth and adults, including work with the Native American Advocacy Program of South Dakota, Omaha Public Schools, Minnesota Humanities Council and Metropolitan Community College of Omaha. He also leads groups of students and teachers on cultural excursions on the Rosebud reservation, introducing them to the rich culture and way of life that is slowly being revived among native communities. He is a past Governor’s Heritage Art Award recipient, an honor bestowed for his contributions in the arts and Native American culture.