Description
In her first appearance on a Goldback series, Pax, or Peace, is featured on the South Dakota 1 Goldback Denomination. She is depicted in this design as a Lakota Native American woman wearing traditional regalia and hoop dancing as demonstrated in person to the artist during her time researching in the state. The inspiration for this virtue of peace came directly from the speech and demonstration given by the Lakota performer that day. She explained that she had made her own regalia and that it represented her name, tribe, family, heritage and stories as well as her own personal passions. She further explained that the name of her heritage, Lakota, as well as the nearby Nakota and Dakota are the words in their similar native languages that they call themselves and they mean “The Friendly Ones”. The artist was deeply inspired by this message and a more generally known translation of “Alliance of Friends” was used to represent this sentiment on a banner toward the bottom of the 1 Goldback Denomination.
While demonstrating the hoop dance, this woman described the importance of finding and creating peace with everything around her by treating them as friends and relatives, and stressed that true peace can come from doing so with every person no matter their creed, race, age, or other differences, as well as by including animals, plants, and even the elements in this same fashion. In this piece, the viewer can see many representations of these impressions, from the sacred Bear Butte, or “Mato Paha” formation in the background to the animals that surround the Virtue of Peace.
In addition to the traditional cancega drum depicted with the Sacred Hoop or Medicine wheel, the careful viewer will also see the representation of the seven sacred elements that were explained to the artist: land, air, water, rocks, animals, plants, and fire. Also, in the bottom right corner one can see the Prairie Crocus, or Pasque flower, appearing as a symbol of the cyclical seasons of life, in theme with the symbolism of the hoops and cancega. It is known for being the first plant to bloom in the spring, and to live out all the cycles of its life in a matter of two weeks, so much like our short lives on this earth with many generations before us on whose shoulders we stand. In many ways, peace is a choice that comes from being in harmony with those people and things around us, just as the Lakota woman explained to the artist. Through the words at Pax’s feet, the South Dakota 1 Goldback Denomination echoes her words and invites all who see it to “Seek Peace”.
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