This painting was painted in the Crow Wing County Courthouse, where it still stands today. In an interview, Arlene Johnson talks about how she would see Heald's progress every day as she entered the Courthouse. Arlene also discusses this painting and its contents, stating that the painting depicts a Ojibwe girl fetching water before dawn and noticing Dakota people in canoes preparing to attack. As legend has it, the young girl alerts her tribe, who were able to leave, avoiding a battle.
Arlene Johnson. Oral History Interview. February 2, 1976, recording, Archives, Crow Wing County Historical Society.
This photo shows Heald Painting the painting we see above. She painted this piece in the Crow Wing County Courthouse because the building had good lighting. Heald would have been very familiar with the Courthouse because of her work in the Crow Wing County Historical Society, which was located in the Courthouse basement until the 1980s.