Lisenta Manuel with her “Man in the Maze” weaving at home on the Gila River Indian Reservation
Lisenta Manuel’s Man in the Maze weaving on the wall of Rikki Fine’s family home
Jerome Tiger: Peace Offering, 26.75 in. x 20.5 in., limited edition print
Holed stones gathered from coastal California
Johnny Tiger, Jr., Silent Promise (1991)
18.00 in. x 14.00 in., limited edition print
Johnny Tiger, Jr., Wolf Warrior Scout, limited edition print
“Many of his depictions of the warrior are that of a serene scene where you can almost hear the quiet.”.
Johnny Tiger Jr., Winterman, 19 in. x 19 in., limited edition print
Apache Burden Basket made by Rikki Fine’s Aunty Carol, Salt River Pima San Carlos Apache
“We have a lot of talented basket weavers in the family!”
Johnny Tiger, Jr., Dancer’s Devotion, limited edition print
Jerome Tiger, Ready to Dance, 10 in x 7 in, limited edition print
indigenous Art of the American southwest
Rikki Fine
Fine Arts
A woman in a patterned dress works at a grinding stone. The woven plaque displayed beside her is so vivid that it must be freshly made. Years later, we see the weaving mounted on a crimson wall, but now the contrast has faded and the figure who hovers in the mouth of a maze is more shadowy than before.
The “Man in the Maze is symbolic of the journey of life and sacred to our tribe,” explained Rikki Fine. The weaving, which hangs in the Oklahoma City home where Rikki was born and raised, was made by Lisenta Manuel, Rikki’s great grandmother, the woman in the patterned dress. It is part of a collection of burden baskets and other weavings from the Papago and Pima tribes of S.W. Arizona, alongside artworks by Jerome Tiger (1941-1967) and his brother Johnny Tiger, Jr. (1940-2015).
“My family owns an industrial film wrap company,” Rikki explained. “Artists came to us for film to wrap their artwork. My parents became close with Johnny and he began trading artwork for film wrap!”
The Tigers “celebrated their native heritage and culture, both personal and universal, through their artwork,”said Ricky. “Johnny Tiger Jr.'s Silent Promise is my favorite because to me it represents the resiliency and kinship important to being an indigenous person.”
Johnny Tiger Jr. did not strictly adhere to his Muscogee-Creek tribal affiliation however. This is important, says Rikki, because it counters the "territorial warrior" misconception, with its “implication of hostility among indigenous people.” “I take a very Pan-Indian approach to these images as I believe we are all one people, so the fact that I am a S.W. Indigenous Tribe and not the Muscogee-Creeks depicted in the Tigers' works is irrelevant in their impact on my life.”
“These pieces have always been so valuable to me because I have felt so removed from my culture simply by being part white. However, I was surrounded by strong, beautiful Native American imagery that reminded me where my family came from. My mother always told me, "You are a Native American woman and you be proud of that no matter what."