Early Indigenous Literatures

Blood and paint join

Throughout the image, there are red drippings concentrated mostly on the body of the horse. The red on their muzzle here evokes images of both blood and paint, which is only complicated by the question of whether the red on the mouth is the same as that on the body. The ambivalence of the red also links together horse and rider--the red reaches the rider only on their lap where the two are joined. The duel invocation of blood and paint marks the couple as potentially coming from war or, at least, a scene of brutality and battle. As they go on, the survival/nce of their Nation is tied to their ability to keep the circle spinning.

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