Hello Ben,
a beautiful work, great painting job and a good feeling for native American.
One remark: I would call the Figurine "Lakota Warrior" and not Dakota Warrior, as his ourfit represents a Lakota and not a Dakota.
The Sioux, the name was given to this people from their Ojibway enemies and means snake
lived around 1600 as farmers in the upper Missisippi (Minnesota)
Under the pressure of the Ojbway who were equiped with fireams, the Sioux had to move westwards.
The Dakota also called Santee stay in the west of Minnesota (Minnesota is a Dakota word and means "Mist over the water").
When my wife was on the Lakota Reservation in Rosebud with Lakota friends, she meet a very friendly group of young people from Minnesota, who spent theri hollidays to help the people on the reservation by restoring houses. When she asked this young men, if they know the meaning of the word Minnesota, no one of them ever had heard in the school that it was a Dakota name.
In 1862 the Dakota don't got the promissed food and people were dieing from starvation. When the Dakota begged the white Indian Agent for food he called them to eat grass. In the following hunger-uprising German settler become the first innocent victimes, while other white settler were even devedet from Dakota friends. The uprising was smashed by white troops with upmost brutality and more than 300 Dakota were sentend to death by a white Jury, even innocent Dakota. More than 200 were pardoned by President Lincoln, who knows that the failur of his administration were resposible for this uprising.
The Nakota who lived in two subgroups the Yankton and the Yanktonai moved to the south-west of Minnesota, southwest of Iowa, east of North and South Dakota.
The Lakota moved to western South Dakota, eastern Wyoming and the eastern Montana.
The were composed of 7 campfires: The Oglala, the Hunkpapa, the Sicangu (Brule), the Ohenunpa (Two Kettle), Sihasapa (Blackfoot), Itazipco (Sans Arc) and Minniconjou. Their most famous chiefs were: Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse (the Lakota name actially means spirit horse), Red Cloud, Sitanka (means Spotted Elk and named by the white Big Food), American Horse (Lakota name actually means "White mens horse", Old man afraid of his horse and Young man affraid of his horse (The actually Lakota word means "They are (the enemy) even afraind of his horse".
The Lakota fight for their land and freedom until 1876, wher they defeated Lt. Col Custer 7. Cavary at the battle of Little Big Horn. Soon after they had to surrender and Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull were assassinated. The 7. Cavalry took a bloody revench when they slaugthered around 380 Minniconjou Lakota at Wounded Knee, after the Lakota had given up their weapons.
Today, the Lakota live in 3rd world conditions, with a unemployed rate of 85%, a cancer rate of 25% and a diabetes rate of 60%. The hopless of the situation leads to alcoholism and social problems.
In Germany, France, Austria, Swizzerland and Italy there are some Organisations which collect money to install projects to better the situation, by batteling the diabetes and cancer, and to get better food to the reservations.
The Dakota kept more their "Woodland Indian" style and looked different to the Seil figurine. Also the featherbonnet in this style was not typical for Dakota.
This is no critic, but only a friendly meant suggestion to give this beautiful work the correct name. The figurine represents a Lakota Chief or renewed warrior around 1860.
Again my congratulation to your fine worke!
Many greetings to Germany
Bruno
