"Native Knowledge" by National Sculptors' Guild fellow Denny Haskew (a Charter Member) installed in the River Front Park in Little Rock, Arkansas. Designed by Haskew and JK Design's John Kinkade, specific to this site.

The artwork is inspired by, and celebrates, the Native American Cultures of Arkansas: The Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw; the bridges across the Arkansas; the natural beauty of Arkansas and the architecture of Fay Jones.

Three twice life-size bronze representational sculptures are mounted on 6” thick hexagonal buff colored sandstone panels suspended between I-beam arches representing the outline of the dugout canoes of the Osage, Caddo and Quapaw. The bronze sculptures are patinated to match the stone panels giving the appearance of being carved from stone. The back of each panel is etched with a pottery design from each of the three tribes mentioned above. 
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Courage to Lead by Denny Haskew and the National Sculptors' Guild was placed in front of Brighton, Colorado's City Hall.

This one and a quarter life-size bronze sculpture was introduced in May of 1993 and won the Western Regional Show, Cheyenne, WY, the People’s Choice Award at Hillside Sculpture Invitational, and the Sculpture Award at the Red Earth Invitational Art Show. In the creation of this artwork, Denny drew upon historical research after being told stories about the Society of the Sacred Arrow. This Society existed among many of the Plains Indian tribes. Among other tribes, the Crow, the Arapaho and the Cheyenne were known to perform the Sacred Arrow Ceremony. The night prior to a raiding party, war party or some equally important event, the tribe would gather around the pow wow circle with much chanting and singing. The members of the Society of the Sacred Arrow would rush out into the center of the ring and collectively shoot arrows straight into the sky. Then with a show of bravery and courage, they would stand still as the falling shafts came back to earth. Each member was unafraid because of his strong belief in his spiritual protection. Their courage and conviction showed that their cause was right and that God was with them. This was a great morale boost to the tribe members in attaining success on the next day’s venture. This display of courage by the members of the Sacred Arrow Society often placed them in the role as leaders of other warriors.It is placed upon Dakota Sandstone taken from the foothills.

The sandstone used was created 70 million years ago. Dakota Sandstone occasionally appears on the plains in jutting outcroppings and bluffs. Plain’s Native Americans used it for structural purposes in religious dwellings. The design team of NSG Fellow Haskew and JK Designs Principal Kinkade has stacked 20 tons of this stone to create the suggestion of such an outcropping. The vertical stone holds a bronze plaque of explanation and commemoration.

Denny Haskew is a Charter Member of the National Sculptors' Guild and one of Loveland's best known artists with his sculptures installed throughout the United States including Alaska, California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, South Dakota, New York, Michigan, Virginia, South Carolina, Illinois and Kentucky. For many years, Haskew maintains a Loveland home-based studio.
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Haskew was born in Aurora and went to junior high and high school in Salt Lake City, Utah. He completed a bachelor's degree in business administration at the University of Utah. Haskew spent much of his early career as a ski instructor at Park City, Utah and was involved in developing ski touring trails in Idaho. He was also a white water river guide in the Grand Canyon. He did carpentry work and made furniture on the side.The talent and desire to become an artist goes back to Haskew's childhood when he carved decoys out of firewood for his father. He then tried his hand at carving shore birds.

His parents moved to Loveland, and Haskew became interested in meeting one of the local artists. His introduction to Fritz White changed his life, and he knew he wanted a career as an artist. He asked White how to get started, and White said, "The old fashion way -- as an apprentice." Haskew quickly asked if he could become White's apprentice and to that, White responded, "I was afraid you would say that." White was a taskmaster often tearing apart what Haskew had started. However despite critical setbacks, Haskew sold his first piece while working for White. After a year, Haskew set up his own studio. With just four pieces, he was accepted into "Sculpture in the Park" held annually in the Benson Park Sculpture Garden.

“I begin with the human figure. Initially, I have no intention of creating an ‘Indian image’, but sometimes the statement comes out stronger that way. Sometimes the opposite is true. Recently, I started to sculpt a Native figure, but it became something else. We’re all human beings inside. We’re all a mixture and will continue to mix until it no longer matters what type of figure is used as long as it makes the strongest statement possible.” see more of Haskew's work here.

NSG Public Art Placement #133

Update 2003-Present: More recent images show nature's changes made to the sculpture's patinas following area wildfires. We wish everyone safety when these unfortunate fires spark up. The beauty of the art, the land, and the people prevail.

Update November 2000: Our design team won the 2000 Orchid Award from the San Diego Architectural Foundation for the Barona Casino Entry!!
THE SDAF ORCHID

• Exemplifies good place making, i.e. it is a functional and memorable place or space to be
• Contributes to its surrounding context and adds to community character
• Skillfully and thoughtfully detailed and crafted – showing respect for materials and the community
• Expresses something relevant to our time and place – San Diego, 2019 as well as its function
• Provides social and economic benefit to San Diegans
• Encourages social interaction or a quiet moment
• Elicits a sense of civic pride
• Is technologically or environmentally innovative
• Supports community building

Orchids & Onions is an educational and fundraising program of the San Diego Architectural Foundation, a 501(c)3, nonprofit organization dedicated to education and the promotion of outstanding architecture, planning and urban design throughout the San Diego region.

Update March 1998: The Barona Band of Mission Indians commissioned the National Sculptors’ Guild to design an entry honoring their living and deceased elders. “The Greeters” was ceremonially blessed and dedicated on March 5, 1998 in Lakeside, California. 
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The design and creation of this monumental statement took the team over a year to plan and execute. The sculptures were placed in August of 1997, and the environmental sculpture and plantings  were finalized in early 1998. This placement follows a previous commission by the Barona Tribe, a Veteran’s memorial that the National Sculptors’ Guild and Denny Haskew dedicated in 1996 - "He Who Fights With a Feather"

The Barona are incredibly generous, both collectively and individually, everyone we met were generous with wisdom and nurturing of the future; working with the Tribe has been a highlight for each member of the design team. Learn about their philanthropic efforts

A large-scale art placement was created for the Barona Band of Mission Indians by the NSG design team: Denny Haskew, lead artist; John W. Kinkade, JK Designs, Principal; Greg Hebert Landscape Architect; and Beaver Curo, representative of the Barona Tribe.

The entry statement includes multiple sculptures intermixed with earthworks. The rim of a basket emerging from the earth planted with native grasses as a backdrop for sculptures of stone and bronze. Patterning of the landscaping is derived from the Tribe's traditional basket weaving designs. Oak trees that were the sustenance of previous generations connect the earth to the sky.  The monumental sculptures, "Respect all that is Natural", "Observe Nature", "Give of Yourself", "Love Song" and "Trail of Forgiveness", are visible as one traverses the 200-foot diameter site, welcoming visitors to the the Barona Resort & Casino. The sculptures represent all Tribal people, the very young and the elderly, as well as the unborn children who represent the future.

Haskew's sculptures are a combination of bronze and monolithic Dakota sandstone that stand 8- to 13-feet high and weigh 7 to 10 tons each. Emerging from the face of each stone are bronze figurative elements. Haskew has developed a special patina technique to match the unique variations of the stone.  The sculpted forms depict an old man, a child, a young mother, a flute player and an old woman. Each has symbolic significance.  In his dedication speech Haskew advised that the eagle feather held by the old man is an admonition to “respect all that is natural.  That’s everything, all of us . . . . All of life.”  The child points her finger to the landscape of the Barona reservation and gives the admonition to “observe nature.” Honoring all the mothers before and after her, the young mother lifts a clay pot that she has made to honor Mother Nature and all mothers “who give of themselves,” Haskew said. 

• Respect All that is Natural: The old man holds his prayer feather and blesses this new valley. Respect all that is natural and be one with this new place.

• Observe Nature: The young child points to her new valley. Observe nature, she says. We honor all the small children forced to move from their homes to this new valley.
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• Give of Yourself: A woman holds her handmade pottery and tells the viewer: Give of yourself in this new place that we all may prosper. This sculpture honors all the women who had to leave their homes and gardens for a new valley. -Denny Haskew

The final sculptural element is of an old woman with her hands lifted in prayer.  “A lot of bad things . . . have happened to Native People over the last 200, 300, 400 years,” said Haskew knowingly as a member of Oklahoma’s Citizen Potawatomi Nation. “That Grandmother back there is saying it’s time to find a new trail, a trail of forgiveness.” Her wisdom is imperative for the world's future generations.

The Barona are incredibly generous, both collectively and individually, everyone we met were generous with wisdom and nurturing of the future; working with the Tribe has been a highlight for each member of the design team. Learn about their philanthropic efforts here.

The first of several monumental art placements commissioned by the Barona Band of Mission Indians was "He Who Fights with a Feather" by Denny Haskew and the National Sculptors' Guild. 

This composition was first introduced as a maquette in the 1995 Red Earth Invitational in Oklahoma City where it won First Prize. 

The Barona Band of Mission Indians in Lakeside, California sponsored the enlargement in 1996. The project included the landscape design of a garden courtyard featuring all of the historical basket making plant materials used by the reservation. Our design team received an AIA Orchid award. Among other awards, it was selected as the cover image of the "Indian Gaming Magazine", "Paradigm", and "Explore Indian Country".


"He Who Fights with a Feather" pays tribute to the many veterans, especially our Native American veterans, who have fought and sacrificed for our country. The tombstone pays tribute to those who have died in this sacrifice. The kneeling Native American weeps for those persons who are now gone. He reaches for the comfort of Mother Earth with his outstretched hand. Behind stands a symbol of Hope. There may be life after this life that those fallen warriors are now enjoying, there is life now that is filled with the freedom we enjoy from their sacrifices. She lays an eagle feather on his shoulder to show that all creatures of the earth stand with him in his sadness and wish for a peaceful world for all that live in the four directions. It is unlike other Veteran's memorials in that it comments on all conflicts and speaks to every person, whether they have experienced war time or not, a true effort to eliminate misunderstandings for the future.

NSG Public Art Placement 41
#NationalSculptorsGuild #PublicArt #NSG #DennyHaskew #Figurative #Bronze #VeteransMemorial #IndeginousPeople #BaronaBandofMissionIndians #California #SculptureIsATeamSport #ArtistDriven #ClientMinded

The tombstone of the sculpture reads: 

He Who Fights With A Feather
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​This memorial pays tribute to the Native Americans who have fought and sacrificed in the many conflicts that our government has chosen to participate.

The kneeling man reaches to Mother Earth in search of strength and comfort.

Behind him stands a symbol of Hope, touching his shoulder with an eagle feather, she conveys hope and understanding for a time when conflict may be solved more peacefully.

With honor and respect for all beings.

Sculptor, Denny Haskew