Billy White Wolf

        Pride and heritage are intertwined in Billy White Wolf Ford's art work.

        Skillfully he creates art from the past as well as contemporary art of today, putting a part of himself in each piece. Billy says: "I like working with the bi-products of animals because these parts would normally be discarded by butchers and others as non-useful items. By taking these items and using them, I am doing three things.

        "First - I am recycling something that no one wants; second - I am keeping in touch with who I am and my people's past; third, and most importantly - I am making the animal's life mean more than just meat on a plate or a trophy for a hunter. By doing this I am in sense keeping the animal's memory alive, kind of like a memorial through the art of a people and a respect for life itself."

         Billy, family and friends travel to many Pow-wows throughout the year where they set up their art display, dance and play the flute. Billy also performs as a lecturer at schools, colleges and other functions where he speaks of his art and the ways of his people.

        His art is known throughout the United States, Japan, Germany, China and other parts of the world. He says it will be nice to leave a mark behind for his family and children with his art, much like the wolf leaves his mark. "I believe God lives through us in a sense of speaking, and his shows himself through the things people do, such as kindness, good deeds, etc. When I am working on my art, I am reminded how God the Creator created me, taking something as simple as dust and making man from it."

        Billy White Wolf's knives are handsomely carved. Simplicity leaves its mark on stone pipes and figures. Dream catchers are touched with whimsy. Arrows have the precision sought by deer hunters. "Nothing at all is wasted, as it should be," says Billy.

        Billy has done his art all his life keeping in tune with his ancestry, but he just started selling his art around 15 years ago when some friends mentioned to him that he should take some of his arrows to a pow-wow. Today he can't keep up with the demand for his work.

        "I hope to teach through my art. My biggest hope for mankind is that one day we each as individuals will come to realize all men are created equal, the earth belongs to no man. The elderly are our wisdom, and our children are our future."