John, known for the painstaking research he puts into his historical paintings, has left something to the viewer’s imagination in Kinsman to the Shawnee. What are the two men discussing and what is the native girl with flint corn and a grinding stone thinking?

We do know that 18th century French Canadian traders often married native women and adopted the ways of their people to enable closer ties for better trade and protection. These Canadians adopted native dress and often tattooed themselves as well, but it was said – not about the face. If you look closely, you’ll see the native man on the right has facial markings and the mark of a medicine wheel on his hand. The Canadian, dressed in a French touque (or tuque), is tattooed with a Jesuit symbol.

Trade with their French brothers, and often with the British, became a staple of all indian nations. The cultural heritage of the Shawnee people is as rich and colorful as this new release from the Artist of Our Heritage.