People ask me why I do so many Native American pieces. Well, first off, I'm a quarter Cherokee, and obviously I'm proud of that. And, of course, a lot of my best friends in Santa Fe were great Native artists - Earl Biss, T. C. Cannon, Allan Houser, R. C. Gorman, Fritz Scholder - and I've always loved their work.
Plus I've always had a great feeling in my heart for the underdog. And I'll tell you, there's no bigger underdog than Native Americans. The way we treated them was horrible. Much worse, I think, than the way we treated slaves. I mean, we just murdered them. But on an even deeper level, I just love the way these guys lived. They cared about their families and their people and the earth. They shared everything, good and bad. They fought bravely and they died happily when it was necessary for their honor or for their people. I mean, think what it means to be able to say every day, I'm right with my god and it's a good day to die.' We talk about becoming one with everything, like it's some kind of mystic ideal.
Like it's almost unattainable and only holy men even have a shot at it. But Native people lived it, man. They appreciated beauty. They honored creation. And they saw themselves as an integral part of that creation. As individuals and as a people they tried to maintain balance and harmony in the world. That's what their rituals and their ceremonies were about.
That's a spiritual life, man. That's what I admire. And that's what I try to put into these sculptures.