Alaina Buffalo Spirit’s “Through the Eyes of a Cheyenne Woman” will be on display at the Collage Gallery of Fine Art in Bigfork in September.

Buffalo Spirit is a self-taught artist whose work honors the women who have had the most influence in her life, such as her recently deceased mother, Ellen Kaline; her grandmother, Annie Medicine Bull; and her aunt, Katie Medicine Bull.

In the late 1930s, when the federal government demanded American Indians use two names, the artist chose to use Buffalo Spirit as closer than Medicine Bull to the real meaning of her great-great-grandfather’s heritage with the Cheyenne Nation.

Buffalo Spirit was raised in the Tongue Valley in Birney as a member of the Sko ‘Taa’ band of the Northern Cheyenne Nation. Her artwork is based on the traditional ledger art originated by Cheyenne and Kiaqa tribal warriors incarcerated in the 1800s, who used materials that were available to them to create art.

These warriors recorded their stories through heraldic images made on the ledger paper issued by the government and primarily used for tallying or record keeping. These images depicted life on the plains before and during the times of conflict.

The storytellers are now considered artists.

As much as possible, Buffalo Spirit uses ledger paper made during this period to portray her vision of women and horses in past and present Cheyenne society.

Buffalo Spirit has shown her work at the Northern Plains Indian Art Market in Sioux Falls, S.D.; at various folk festivals; and at the National Folk Festival in Butte for the last three years. In 2011, she was the featured artist at the Indian Uprising Gallery in Bozeman.

Meet Buffalo Spirit during an opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday. The public is invited to the opening; refreshments will be served.

The gallery is located at 573 Electric Ave. For more information, call 837-0866.