Until the hearts of its women

are on the ground.

Then it is finished,

No matter how brave its warriors

Or how strong their weapons.

— Cheyenne proverb

Award-winning CA artist Howard Terpning captures the solemn pride—and tenderness—of a young Cheyenne mother. She poses in her everyday dress of doeskin, a cradleboard secured to her back by straps around her chest and shoulders. From her belt hangs a knife in an elaborately fringed and beaded sheath.