Art of James Bama with Chester Medicine Crow

When Chester Medicine Crow visited my home, it was the highlight of my early years in Wyoming. He was the first male Indian I ever painted. Part yesterday and part today, Chester Medicine Crow was also stone deaf so I was unable to tell him the way I wanted him to pose. He seemed to want to sit stiffly, so that’s the way I painted him. It’s ironic that Indians often use the American flag as a motif in their arts and crafts despite the injustices done to them by the U.S. Army and government. Even so, Chester Medicine Crow was proud of his accomplishments as a Native American, both before and after the white man came.”