Norval Morriseau, a Canadian Ojibwa introduced Native artists to the woodland style of art. I believe that this style of art is created from the combination of Ojibwa petroglyphs, which are drawings or carvings on rocks and images from birch bark scrolls. These images can also be identified as x-ray vision. The inspiration for these images relies on Ojibwa clans and stories. The artist usually paints images with heavy black outlines and paints what is felt or perceived inside animals or people. What is painted inside the animal or person represents a kind of spirit, a source of powers. —Gordon Coons

Gordon Coons is an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe of Northern Wisconsin and a descendant of the Ottawa tribe in Michigan. Now living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Gordon is a self taught artist, creating and experimenting with a variety of media including linoleum block prints, paintings, pen and ink drawings, and creations in stone, wood, and assembled sculptures. Although his artwork is more contemporary, each piece portrays a unique view of traditional Native stories or is a record or impression of Indigenous history in North America.