The Bison is the spirit keeper of the northern direction of the medicine wheel.
Long before Banff introduced wild Bison back into the park, I wanted to create a Bison head ring. Their re-introduction to the land gave me the strength and inspiration to carve this piece.
In First Nations culture the Bison is a sacred being that sustains life. All parts of the bison were used, but its meat was a main food source and its fur and hide were used for shelter and clothing-basically the Bison represented survival.
So important were the Bison to the existence to aboriginal peoples, that settlers systematically slaughtered them to near-extinction in an effort to starve all those who held the Bison sacred.
The Bison is seen as a very spiritual animal. Having it back in it’s natural habitat signifies hope for our people and our environment. For you, I present this ring, please enjoy.