The  foundation of the canvas is hand built with small amounts of cedar, tobacco, sage and sweet grass in the corner gussets, completed with four coats of gesso to represent the directions.  

The foreground is designed with a buffalo hide to reflect the historic winter count paintings and the traditions and ceremonies that have survived and continue to be carried on by a traditional indigenous people.

A blue background reflects the sacred element, water and the Missouri river, a present day location of the converging affiliated tribes; Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara.

Four colored horses represent the semi-cardinal directions of the Arikara: Yellow – Mother corn, Red – Buffalo Nation, White – Elements, wind, rain, thunder.., Black – The night.

Three earth lodges represent the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara ceremonial lodges.

The tree of life is a universal symbol which emulates family; past, present and future. Four directional colored roots symbolize each nation.  Six colored flags in the tree are prayer flags which hang to the East, South, West, North, Creator and Mother Earth.

Elders, Edwin Benson - Iron Bison and Tony Mandan -Little Cloud are depicted with Chairman Marcus Levings –Bald Eagle on the hide.  Seven pictographic pipes represent the leaders of each segment of the Three Affiliated tribes.

Four center tail eagle feathers make up the bottom half of the centrally located design with war bonnet above to represent the White Chief, Byron Dorgan, as his arms are represented in beadwork, and reach out to help the people.