My Determined Eye

From back cover: "In the fall of 1965, at age 19, I found myself in a dormitory lounge at the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe. I had been asked to teach folk guitar lessons to members of the newly founded folk song club. While I had grown up in Santa Fe, my experience with Indians was limited to the few acquaintances I had in high school and an occasional Pueblo feast day dance. At that first meeting, I was drown to a young man wearing Buddy Holly glasses (like my own) who asked me if I could play Bob Dylan songs. This was the beginning of a 13 year friendship with Tommy Wayne Cannon. T.C., as he became known, was awe-struck by Bob Dylan's lyrics. Within a month, he was playing Dylan's songs, accompanying himself with the guitar and harmonica, neither of which he had ever played before. Not only was he mastering the music, he was writing some song lyrics and poetry that touched my soul. He introduced me to the history of Indians in America and taught me to understand what had happened to America's original inhabitants. What strikes me to this day is that he did it without rancor or blame. he simply wanted to understand. While T.C. is noted for his paintings and drawings, his words are every bit as powerful. They reflect his observations on the human condition during on the of the most tumultuous periods in American history. They speak to all people, their hopes and fears, their loves and heartbreaks, and their hope for a better future. I am a far different person today than that naive young man in 1965 and these words are a large part of the reason why." -Mike Lord August 28,2005