The Give Away

Give away ceremonies show gratefulness to the Creator who provides for the people and makes possible the blessings celebrated. If an animal was hunted for food, special thanks were also given to the Creator and to the spirit of the animal. If a plant was harvested and used for any purpose, or a bird or a fish, if an anthill was disrupted, gratitude and acknowledgement were given for the little ones’ lives. To this day it is the same with most Native people and Americans.

Had this beautiful painting been free of the iron stain, its value would have approximated $4,000.00.

(Born 1951) Virginia Alice Stroud is of Cherokee and Creek descent. Stroud attended Bacone Junior College and the University of Oklahoma. Her intention to major in art education and to teach art in either primary or secondary school changed due to Dr. Richard West's encouragement.

In May 1970 she became the youngest Native American artist to receive first place honors in the Woodlands division of the 25th Annual American Indian Artists Exhibition at Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1972 she won the Heritage Award at the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma. More recently she received the Woody Crumbo memorial award, Best of Show, Best of Painting and Best in the traditional category at the 1992 Indian Market in Santa Fe.

Stroud's work has appeared on the cover of Oklahoma Today, Southwest Art and in the first issue of Four Winds magazine. Her work was also illustrated in Indianische Kunst im 20 Jarhhundert, a German publication and in Beyond Traditional, Contemporary Indian Art and Its Evolution by Jerry and Lois Jacka, 1988.

Books illustrated by Virginia Stroud include:  Doesn't Fall Off His Horse (1994), The Story of the Milky Way (1995), A Walk to the Great Mystery (1995) and The Path of Quiet Elk: A Native American Alphabet Book (1996).