Wo Peen's Painting of the Thunder-Bird

This mural, created by Native American Artist Wo Peen, is on one of the walls of Springfield College's Pueblo of the Seven Fires. The mural of a Thunder-Bird and is highly symbolic. The Thunder-Bird is a form of an eagle, or all powerful bird of the sky and messenger for the Indians. The coloring has definite meaning, as red symbolizes heat, yellow-sunshine, green-vegetation or life, blue-the sky, purple-dawn, and orange-the glow of the sun. Gray and black clouds are shown by semi-circles and the black and white wings of the bird represent the winds of the night and day. Tail feathers of the eagle always symbolize the sun's rays. Wind is shown over the bird's head andthe lightening coming from his mouth implies great strength. This painting is one of a group of murals that Wo Peen painted in the Pueblo of the Seven Fires for the college in 1932. ; The Pueblo of the Seven Fires is the name of the main building located on Springfield College’s East Campus, which consists of about 80 acres of forested land adjacent to Wilbraham Road that support the college’s recreation and camping programs as well as providing experiential learning opportunities for the community. The building, the only authentic southwestern pueblo structure east of the Mississippi, was dedicated in 1932 and originally provided meeting space, activity areas, storage, and living accommodations for the East Campus caretaker. The 4,4000 square-foot structure follows a classic southwestern design, with walls 24” thick at the base, tapering to 16” at the top. The floors are made of brick and the original roof was constructed of oak planks lying beneath a tarred layer overlaid with two or more inches of sand and soil to provide both insulation and fire protection from potential forest fires. The interior of the Pueblo features seven fire places, including a large fireplace donated by 4-H clubs. The seven fires refer to the seven fires of youth: self-expression, universality, ruggedness, regret/humility, truth, comradeship and beauty. The Pueblo also ...