Page 100 [100]
OCR
Figure 2. Bill Powless, "Fear of Wet Feathers’, drawing, 1985, Tribal Vision, n.d. http://www.tribalvisiondance.com/p/original-artwork-by-bill-powless.html. By permission of artist. The third drawing by Powless is titled Urban Indian Lost in the Woods (1995) (see Figure 3). This is a sardonic rendering of “Indians don’t get lost in the woods”. But the urban Indian has lost its touch with nature, tradition, heritage, and culture so he cannot find his way in the woods, which may metaphorically represent life itself. The drawing depicts a Native with the stereotypical longish black hair, strong male facial features, with only the feather missing, which would visually enforce his Indigenous heritage; he wears a white shirt which is torn, but his entire appearance shows signs of wear and neglect; he has smaller cuts on his fingers and face. The trees look like the iron bars of a prison, from which he is desperately trying to escape. The futility of his efforts is visible on his face and bleeding fingers. The Indian may represent the misery and hopelessness of Indigenous people in general, which is a consequence of acculturation, residential schools, and, in end effect, of white colonization. The work is a grim rendering of anguish and loss, which is made bitingly clear by the facial features of the man showing suffering, misery, loss and even panic. The unmistakable sarcasm and bitter humour are evident in the work, but it is directed perhaps not so much at the non-Native, but rather at Indigenous people. His aim is to raise awareness and strengthen Indigenous + 98 +
