All My Relations-Intertribal Artisans

Choknanipok (Man of Flint) is a mythological figure from the Algonquian people. He is the third brother of the cultural hero Manabozo. Chokanipok had a body as big as a mountain. He fought many battles with his brother Manabozho. Manabozho’s arrows tore off pieces of Chokanipok’s body, which fell to Earth as pieces of flint. When Manabozho finally conquered Chokanipok, pieces of the giant’s body were scattered everywhere. This story explains why flint is so common in some parts of the country.

Influenced by the Ojibwe story titled The Legend of O-Na-Wut-A-Qut-O, the image highlights a moment in the story between the state of consciousness and sleep. In this story, a young man named O-Na-Wut-A-Qut-O fasts and sleeps outside on a cloudy day. A Woman ascends from the clouds to greet him who guides him to the place she lives for several years. Dreams are one of several important sources of indigenous oral stories, seen as a way of receiving messages from other places, people – living or dead, and from subconscious symbols.

Acrylic Inspired by Pequot Women picking berries in communal gatherings within the Forrest of New England aka Turtle Island