Gallery Review

Ever play “Cowboys and Indians” growing up? How about pretend to be a rodeo cowgirl or a cowboy on a roundup? Growing up that was one of my favorite games, only it wasn’t just a game. In my neck of the woods I was the Indian and Cowgirl; I am part Cherokee, part Muscogee (Creek), and part Caucasian. My biological father was a pure blood Indian and my mother was half. I grew up on a farm in the southern part of Oklahoma. In my town, which is too small to even be called a town, the Chisholm Trail was part of my heritage and our lives. Cattle drives used to be driven from one end of Texas all the way up to Kansas, things have changed over the years and we used trailers and trucks to haul the longhorns any given distance, however the history and the legacy left by those cowboys still exist. My hometown is located about fifteen minutes away from a beautiful Heritage Center that was built in 1998. In November 2012 I visited this Center to remember the beautiful history of my heritage. The Chisholm Trail Heritage Center was built in Duncan, Oklahoma to honor and memorialize the iconic history of the Chisholm Trail and the Great Cattle Drives. The museum contains a beautiful bronze statue that sits just adjacent to the building as well as beautiful pieces of art by various artists. The theme of this museum is American Heritage. From American Indians to the cowboys and cattle drives. It contains a major part of the history of Oklahoma.

On the Chisholm Trail is a beautiful bronze statue that sits just slightly off of the front of the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center. The creator, Paul Moore, captured the essence of movement and physique when creating this sculpture. The bronze statue creates the illusion of a cattle drive; the cattle moving from one end of the scene to another in disarray such as it does happen in actuality. The piece progressively changes from a low relief sculpture into high relief, and eventually into a 3 Dimensional form. The relief varies from a few...