Two Rivers Rainbow, OM Center Community Mural Omaha NE, Roxanne Wach and Sandy Aquila, Oct 2017, 12'x52''
Two Rivers Rainbow
This mural is inspired by the Aboriginal Spiritual Law teachings of the Rainbow Serpent who brought water, created the rivers, carved out the land and gave birth to all living things.
For Omaha NE, the Rainbow Serpent is represented by the confluence of two mighty rivers, the Missouri and the Platte. Rainbow changes his headdress as he creates the world’s diverse landscapes. The Missouri headdress is the Aboriginal Rainbow symbol, the black-headed python, with buffalo in his belly, as it moves down through the Dakotas. This symbol supports the Standing Rock nation in their quest to protect their sacred water. The Platte headdress is a Sandhill Crane, a relative of the Australian dancing bird, the Brolga, with the sacred Ponca corn in his belly. The dots throughout the mural represent the life giving rain and all living beings that drink and are made of the water.
The black night sky is filled with stars, the campfires of all our grandparents, looking down on us all, reminding us to care for our land, our Mother, painted in red. The major white circles are the ancestors of our artists. The Aboriginal symbol for Meeting Place with an OM inside, represents our OM Center and OMaha. There are Cottonwood trees lining the Platte, holding Star Children in their branches in honor of American Indian story and culture. The green and gold grasses of the prairie sea are waving with two spiritual protectors amongst the blades. In Aboriginal Law, the figures are also Star Children or Lightning Babies, who have come from the sky and live in the billabongs, springs or ponds, eating the green algae, their first food before they move inland to choose their parents. The handprints are those of the artists who created the mural.
This mural was designed by Omaha artist Roxanne Wach in collaboration with OM artist in resident “Jalala” Paul Taylor and painted by Sandy Aquila’s wonderful OM community. This painting celebrates our beautiful land, teaches us to “Care for Country”, and our life giving water.
For Omaha NE, the Rainbow Serpent is represented by the confluence of two mighty rivers, the Missouri and the Platte. Rainbow changes his headdress as he creates the world’s diverse landscapes. The Missouri headdress is the Aboriginal Rainbow symbol, the black-headed python, with buffalo in his belly, as it moves down through the Dakotas. This symbol supports the Standing Rock nation in their quest to protect their sacred water. The Platte headdress is a Sandhill Crane, a relative of the Australian dancing bird, the Brolga, with the sacred Ponca corn in his belly. The dots throughout the mural represent the life giving rain and all living beings that drink and are made of the water.
The black night sky is filled with stars, the campfires of all our grandparents, looking down on us all, reminding us to care for our land, our Mother, painted in red. The major white circles are the ancestors of our artists. The Aboriginal symbol for Meeting Place with an OM inside, represents our OM Center and OMaha. There are Cottonwood trees lining the Platte, holding Star Children in their branches in honor of American Indian story and culture. The green and gold grasses of the prairie sea are waving with two spiritual protectors amongst the blades. In Aboriginal Law, the figures are also Star Children or Lightning Babies, who have come from the sky and live in the billabongs, springs or ponds, eating the green algae, their first food before they move inland to choose their parents. The handprints are those of the artists who created the mural.
This mural was designed by Omaha artist Roxanne Wach in collaboration with OM artist in resident “Jalala” Paul Taylor and painted by Sandy Aquila’s wonderful OM community. This painting celebrates our beautiful land, teaches us to “Care for Country”, and our life giving water.
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