Sage Grinder is one of Bama's most recognized paintings and a perfect example of his vision for capturing the West. "My model for this painting,” begins Bama, "was a young Navajo girl, a student at Brigham Young University. One summer, on the outskirts of Cody, she and a number of other Indians re-created an early native village to demonstrate the manner in which the Indians lived before the arrival of Columbus. Charging admission, they taught such crafts as sage-grinding, cooking and the making of weapons. The entire encampment was all very well done. It was a rare opportunity for me to pose them and to produce a series of paintings (Pre-Columbian Indian with Atlatl & Pre-Columbian Indian are included in this group). Before the summer ended they packed up camp and disappeared. I have not heard from them since.”