Stories of the Women

Passing On Traditions; Mothers and Daughters

Virginia Boone and her daughter Sika

As an introduction to my World’s Longest Native American Painting project I have decided to depict the importance of Mothers and Daughters as well as the passing on of traditional and cultural ways.

Virginia Boone, a traditional Navajo woman was taught the healing properties of the desert plants by her father Sam Boone who was a traditional Navajo Medicine man. Her family comes from a long line of herbalists and healers. In this painting she is passing on knowledge of spiritual ideals and ceremonies to her daughter who is holding a small bundle of Sage. Virginia’s role in this piece is to “bless” my painting and the entire idea of the WLNAP. There are many important lessons passed on to daughters by their mothers, that is why I decided to put this “passing on of traditions” in the introduction of my piece.

She is holding a bundle of Sage which is one of our sacred plants which comes from the West and Southwest. It has been used by the Native People for centuries and is still used today. Generally, Sage is used for ceremonies, however it has properties which allow its usage for other reasons.

Virginia Boone and many other women in the WLNAP are iconic Native women who learn about their cultures and spend their lives being living examples of what I feel is most important: the humanity women bring to our lives. This humanity is within all women, however my painting is focused on Native American women’s lives.

I have known Virginia for many years and I have learned so many aspects of her culture. She has shared with me her knowledge and I admire her abilities to teach in a very patient way the importance of our ways. Before I met Virginia I had understood that Navajo people have a particular philosophy and that they are Existential. Then, after meeting Virginia, I better understood the philosophy of “we are all related.” This concept, we are all related, is key to this entire project; it is what the WLNAP painting is about. To my people, the Anishinabeg, we use the term “E’aawiiyaang.”

To learn more about Virginia Boone visit her website www.medicineofthepeople.net

This painting is about the role women play throughout the many nations across North America. This is a broad presentation of images and stories on contemporary or historical, iconic or everyday Native women.