Nidichi Buffalo Lance Point

This deceptively simple Nidichi sculpture features an often overlooked, but basic tool of the ancient Indian peoples – a lance point. It is loosely suspended by a thin red leather loop from a clear Lucite crane which is set in a desert sandstone base.

This unique piece displays Nidichi’s love of mixed medium presentation. His artful combination of natural, organic and synthetic materials results in an intriguing piece that invites study and invokes deeper thought. Strikingly simple and beautiful, the Buffalo Lance Point is another example of Nidichi's use of significant symbols to convey a message to the Indian people and to the world.

The most unique and outstanding feature of the Nidichi Buffalo Lance Point is, of course, the spearhead itself. Nidichi provides a modern example of the essential flint-knapping craft of the ancients, here in the form of a buffalo lance point, but has rendered it for us in an exotic steel of his own formulation. It is said that his alloy of steel contains meteoric iron which imparts unique and even mystical qualities to the steel. It is so hard that when tapped by a solid object the steel point rings like a high-pitched tuning fork!

By clicking on the images for a closer view, the basic chipped flint effect of the 5 1/2-inch lance point is clearly visible. Like his pipe tomahawks, Nidichi employed his skill in the application of intense heat to color-finish the steel of the lance point. This process, called "fire-blue" involves a time consuming application of heat selectively applied to the surface of the metal to achieve the colors we find in this specimen. The combination of colors can range from golden straw with shades of peacock, cobalt blue, and even lavender which suggest the point is crafted of rainbow obsidian rather than an exotic steel.

According to Nidichi, this “ferro-lithic” point symbolizes the vast history and culture that is the Indian people. From ancient times of Stone Age technology to modern times of iPod music, the Indian people have managed to span this great breadth of history and have survived virtually intact as a society of people. 

The body of knowledge is heavy and is loosely suspended by nothing more than a thin loop of red leather – the Indian people themselves. They are the only link between the ancient and the modern. They will determine whether Indian culture will survive into the future or simply be lost in history.

Nidichi is concerned that the old ways are being lost or abandoned by a youth that cares little for them - perhaps soon to be forgotten. It is the red loop alone that connects the history and rich pageantry of the past with the modern “plastic” world as Nidichi sees it. But even the plastic world of today rose up from the natural world, here depicted by the sandstone base. According to Nidichi, it is never too late for human beings to reconnect with their natural Source.

This example is one of a limited edition, the first of which was donated to Native American Rights Fund for their annual fund raising auction in August of 2007. The bidding soared to an amazing $500 which set the price for the remainder of the pieces in the collection.

If you wish purchase one of the limited edition Nidichi Buffalo Lance Points, or to commission a piece of Nidichi art, please contact us, the friends of Nidichi, at: Nidichi@RadicalConcepts.info . 


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