“Counting Coupe”

Description:Among the Plains Indians of North America, counting coupe is the warrior tradition of winning prestige against an enemy in battle. It is one of the traditional ways of showing bravery in the face of an enemy and involves intimidating him, and, it is hoped, persuading him to admit defeat, without having to kill him. If the coupe is considered worthy by the tribe elders, the warrior is awarded an “Eagle Feather”.
This Sculpture is of a warrior riding back into camp after stealing four horses. Maybe he will get an “Eagle Feather”.

Historical Context: Among the Plains Indians of North America, “Counting Coup is the warrior tradition of winning prestige against an enemy in battle. It is one of the traditional ways of showing bravery in the face of an enemy and involves intimidating him, and, it is hoped, persuading him to admit defeat, without having to kill him. These victories may then be remembered, recorded, and recounted as part of the community’s oral, written, or pictorial histories.
Medium: Two-part epoxy with a Faux Bronze finish, mounted on a 12-inch circular base that rotates which allows the sculpture to be easily turned.
Dimensions: 18 x 12 x 12 inches.

After the Civil War, buffalo killing went into high gear.
The combination of guns, railroads, commercial activity, and war between European settlers and American Indians proved deadly to the species. There was a huge market for buffalo skins and hides in the Northeast United States and Europe. A good buffalo skin would sell for $3 in Kansas, and a finished buffalo-hide winter coat would sell for $50. Buffalo leather was also well suited and in high demand for the belts used in pulleys and for steam engines in factories of the time.
Given the scope of this carnage, some hunters, including Buffalo Bill Cody, spoke out in favor of protecting the bison, but President Ulysses S. Grant refused to sign legislation to that effect. The U.S. Army encouraged the excessive killing of buffalo as a way of eliminating food supplies for Indian communities, enabling them to starve Indians off their land and onto reservations.
In the spring of 1886, a taxidermist from the Smithsonian, Hornaday, and his team, headed to Montana to collect specimens for the museum. Hornaday was stunned to find no live buffalo on the plains, only thousands of skeletons bleaching in the sun. The impact of killing some of the last buffalo was not lost on Hornaday, and he began to think about how to save the species.
The conservation of the bison had begun.

This is a polymer clay sculpture. It has been painted to a Faux Bronze finish. It is on a 12 inch circular wooden base. The overall dimensions are 18 X 12 X 12 inches.