One of the inspirations of the book Dead White was the painting called Blizzard Bath by Oscar Howe. It makes a passing appearance in the story, as one of the prints Detective Marek Okerlund's mother had framed and placed in her bedroom.
As a graduate of the University of South Dakota, Janina Marek Okerlund may well have known the Sioux painter who was Artist in Residence there for many years. She would have seen his pictures hanging around campus and felt, as I did, that Howe touched the heart of Dakota.
Blizzards are part of the glory and the tragedy of the Plains. The Children's Blizzard of 1888, which struck just as children were leaving their schoolhouses, is still talked of today.
Now, we curse blizzards when they cross our path, revel in them from the safety of our homes, and brag of our escape from them. Or sigh as we fill out a check for the cost of removing their fury, wind-packed snow, from our drives and country roads.
As a graduate of the University of South Dakota, Janina Marek Okerlund may well have known the Sioux painter who was Artist in Residence there for many years. She would have seen his pictures hanging around campus and felt, as I did, that Howe touched the heart of Dakota.
Blizzards are part of the glory and the tragedy of the Plains. The Children's Blizzard of 1888, which struck just as children were leaving their schoolhouses, is still talked of today.
Now, we curse blizzards when they cross our path, revel in them from the safety of our homes, and brag of our escape from them. Or sigh as we fill out a check for the cost of removing their fury, wind-packed snow, from our drives and country roads.
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