Artist Statement:
Yakama—How the War Began
I was influenced to create this piece of ledger art when I read the following words by Emily Washines in her article “Who Started the Yakama War”:
"Non-natives killed Yakamas. Miners rape and murder a Yakama woman, her teenage daughter, and her baby. The Yakama Warriors including the father of this family tracked down the murdering miners and killed them before they could cause any more harm…. When Yakamas reported the Yakama family being murdered by miners and their self-defence to the federal Indian Agent Bolan, he threatened the Yakamas with military retaliation. The Yakamas had a decision to make, would they risk war to protect their families?”
America’s Top Gun Was an Indian from Washington
As a boy, I watched the TV show, Baa Baa Black Sheep. Much later I found out that Pappy Boyington, America’s Top Gun, is Lakota Sioux Indian, enrolled Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. Twenty-eight Japanese Zeroes [fighter aircraft] were shot down by him during World War II. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Pappy is a graduate of Lincoln High School, Tacoma, and University of Washington, and worked at Boeing Aircraft in Seattle. This piece of ledger art has passed through several versions. The first was done with colored pencil, on vintage ledger paper from the Pierce County court system. This version has a digitally drawn eagle and barbed wire wreath intact. Each barb is a representation of the Thirty-eight Dakotas who were hung in Mankato, Minnesota. The barbed wire also represents the medal given to former Prisoners of War. Pappy’s service is a dichotomy between being a prisoner of two countries, and a victory over two countries.
Stars Shot Down
As I read Pappy Boyington’s autobiography, he told the story like a tough man singing the blues. His actions spoke of that warrior spirit of Crazy Horse riding to victory over General Custer. A star in the blue sky, on blue uniform, the blue ocean, his blue song was that of somebody flying high and flying so low as to crash and burn in the depths of the ocean. I hope you can see that in this piece entitled “Stars Shot Down”.