Project Description

In February of 1976 a rancher near Wamblee, South Dakota found the frozen body of a Native woman on his land. After the body was found, coroner Dr. W.O. Brown ruled she died of exposure to the cold. Brown removed the hands and had them sent to an FBI lab in Washington for identification. For those who don’t know the story, this woman was Anna Mae Pictou Aquash. The image of those hands has always remained with me. My primary media is collage and I often use hundreds of letters cut from text in a collage. These vamps are done in that method on canvas and I am beading the hands with clear beads. Anna Mae You are not forgotten.

by Keo R. Gathman