Pratt's status in the law enforcement community reflects his 48 years of service and also his groundbreaking new way of reconstructing soft tissue to identify victims. He started as a simple artist who was called in to draw the killer from the description given by witnesses. He was so successful that he helped identify the Green River Killer and the Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders. His art talent then led to his next discovery. He figured out that he could draw directly on the photo of the victim to cover the wounds and reduce signs of trauma so that families and police could identify the victim. The tribe immediately recognized his talent and put it to good use when the "Sandman" was found in the backyard of a family in the suburbs. Researchers contacted Pratt and asked him to reconstruct the face of the Sandman by using bone fragments. What they found was that the Sandman had died in 1837 on Wolf-Creek during an inter tribal war between the Arapaho and Cheyenne. Since he was buried with his belongings they assumed he was important and contacted the tribe. The tribe then asked Pratt to reconstruct the whole body with war paint and all so they could give him the proper burial. Soon the tribe was asking for his services more often and eventually he was contacted by the members of the Hoopa Project. They were searching for the Native American version of Bigfoot. Harvey has never confirmed if he believes it or not but he often draws witness reports for them and says the sources are credible.
Historic ReconstructionHarvey continues to work on his artwork that usually reflects tradition, death, and humanities essence. One of his pieces depict buffalo wearing clothes and smoking. Right off you can see that is a Native American piece but until I looked further into their symbols and meanings I could not see the story he was trying to tell. I learned that buffalo stands for prosperity and strength and a shirt stands for power so I think that he was trying to show that even the strongest creatures who already have human qualities, such as the shirt, need to worship the Gods. You know they are giving offerings to the Gods because smoking was often a way to send something up to them. They felt that since is went up and out of sight that the Gods must have taken it.
When Buffalo Tried to Be HumanMy favorite piece of his though is one where an eagle is flying with a pouch in its talons. The eagle was often recognized as a guardian spirit and if you combine this with the symbol of the pouch, which is deliverance of wealth, you get an uplifting message that someone is looking out for you and wishing good things upon you. The black underside of its feathers represent mystery that hold hope for the future and in you look really closely you can see faces in the brown top feathers. I think it's beautiful to think of something watching over you like that.
Medicine WingsThe beauty and diversity of Pratt's work is amazing to look at because even though it is so different he always seems to find a way to relate it back to his life in the tribe. I also think it is important to see how much the tribe supports him and his work. It is amazing to see how they use an individuals talent to better the tribe as a whole.
http://nativedigest.com/hpratt.html
This website taught me a lot about his background and what parts of Indian culture influence his work. Also it taught me about his developments in soft tissue reconstruction.
http://harveypratt.com
This website is where I got all of the pictures for this article. It also taught me about how he reconstructed the Sandman and how he works with the police.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Pratt
I mainly learned about basic information from this website and it is also how I found out about him.
http://cheyennetribe2008-v.blogspot.com/2008/06/traditions.html
This website is where I learned all about the symbols in Native American art that tell the story in all of Pratt's work.
