Rowena Bright Hyldahl OLY

“FACE IT”
24” x 36”
Lime plaster & oil on wood

@bouchard.design.collective Gallery
@mallorybouchard

Artist Statement:

Rather than fleeing a winter storm, Buffalo sometimes turn to face it, lower their heads, and stand their ground.

Courage isn’t the absence of a storm. It’s the willingness to face it. And in proportion to our courage - our lives shrink or expand.

The story of the American Bison is one of the most powerful, haunting, and tragic stories of the American West.

Once numbering about 30–60 million, these magnificent animals sustained entire civilizations.

They once roamed the very valley where I now live.

Imagine enormous herds stretching toward the horizon. The sound of thousands of hooves. The ground trembling.

By the late 1800s, following decades of relentless slaughter and westward expansion, fewer than 1,000 remained.
Their destruction was not simply the result of hunting. It was also used as a deliberate means of dispossessing Indigenous peoples.

Destroying the Buffalo meant weakening the nations that depended upon them, forcing communities from their lands and onto reservations.

The U.S. Army supported commercial buffalo hunters in some circumstances, recognizing the devastating consequences for Indigenous nations.

By 1902, they were almost erased from the earth. Just 23 wild Buffalo remained in Yellowstone National Park.

Through conservation efforts, protection, and Indigenous stewardship, the Buffalo was saved from extinction.

Today, hundreds of thousands of bison exist across North America, and Indigenous nations are helping restore them to Tribal lands.

For many Indigenous nations, the buffalo is sacred. Their traditions recognize the profound connection between the animal, the land, and all living things.

The buffalo sustained their people, just as it nourished the earth beneath its feet.

A sacred circle of life, provision, gratitude, and renewal.

The story of the buffalo isn’t just about surviving hardship.

It’s about the possibility of renewal and restoration after devastating destruction and loss.

May this painting remind us to:

Face the storm.
Endure.
Restore.
Rise again.

— R O W E N A