Nativo Artist Room

Black God has a crescent moon on his forehead,
a full moon for a mouth,
the Pleiades on his temple
and he wears a buckskin mask covered in
sacred charcoal with white paint.

Black God was busy meticulously placing the constellations when Coyote came along. In the moment of impatience, coyote threw a blanket of stars into the sky forming the Milky Way. It was Black God, also known as the Fire God, who lit the stars. He did not light the stars that Coyote flung into the sky. This explains why some stars are dimmer than others. In another version of the story, it is said that Black God created the Milky Way on purpose. The Navajo believe the Milky Way is a pathway for spirits to travel between heaven and earth. Each star is a little footprint. The artist room by Vanessa Bowen depicts the story of Coyote and the creation of the Milky Way.