In spatial regards my thesis concentrates on the area of the Great Plains, the prairies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in North America, which have traditionally been inhabited by nomadic, buffalo-hunting, and semi-nomadic Indian cultures including the Sioux, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Pawnee, and Kiowa tribes, among others. The literary and visual pieces I analyze are created by contemporary artists who express affiliation towards one or more Plains cultures. To further facilitate my task, I focus primarily on the spiritual aspects of Plains art.