http://dealers.greenwichworkshop.com/marketing/ecarddisplay.asp?ecardId=15 Blessing From The Medicine Man --- Thunderstorms rumble across the Plains indicating winter's end and the onset of spring. The People, as the Blackfoot refer to themselves, use this as the signal to gather for the Thunder Pipe Ceremony, a celebration of spring rains, renewed life and good health. This sacred pipe, according to legend, was a gift to the People from the spirit of Thunder, who the Blackfoot believed was one of the mightiest manifestations of the All Powerful One. This gift was passed down through a succession of keepers. The pipe bundle is unwrapped only after a morning of prayers and song. After a great feast, the ceremony continues for those who are authorized to dance with the pipe in order to receive its power. At the ceremony's end, spectators were allowed to come forward and receive individual blessings from the medicine man, bestowed with four sacred streaks of red pigment, placed on the forehead, each cheek and chin. While those markings seem representative of the four directions, the certainty of their meaning lies with the medicine man. "Blessing From The Medicine Man" was commissioned by the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, Indiana.