“He Who Stands Before the Storm”

A Blackfeet warrior known as Omahkaapi'si—“He Who Stands Before the Storm”—was famed not for retreat, but for facing what others feared. His war paint told a story of defiance: red for blood spilled, black for protection in battle. The headdress made out of deer tail roach had been died red marking him as one who had counted coup and lived to tell it.

On the eve of conflict, he would stand at the edge of camp, facing the horizon, silent as thunder rolled in. To his people, he was a shield. To his enemies, a warning. His presence reminded all: some men are born from the storm, and others run from it.