This painting has been very well received in the Native Community. The vibrant Spirit of this Animal what I tried to capture. The healing power, and cautious strength of this spirit is a source of comfort to me. My Daughter was told she is Bear Clan by a Local Medicine man, and my good and true friend Bob Pine was happy to say, during his lifetime, he was also. This Clan is very common among the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, as well as the Bay Mills Indian Community. I often try and imagine what it was like in the old days when the Pines rose a hundred feet tall and 8 feet wide, the bears would hibernate in the tree trunks sometimes, it must have been like living in a Cathedral for the Native Americans of that time. I do not think living so close with these beings was as dangerous as people think of them now, food was not so difficult to obtain and people were Brother to Bear, not enemy. Some of my Ancestors lived in that deep forest home of constant shade and abundant meaning. My Native Ancestors give me the roots to understand and be one with this part of America.