By Eleni Himaras
reporter@ltview.com
The Oasis recently added a new piece to its statue garden at the entrance of its restaurant.
“Legends of the Shadow,” depicting a swirl of Native Americans and animals created by Ed Natiya, a Navajo from Arizona.

“He grew up on a reservation and his grandfather was a code-talker in World War II,” Chris Payne of Mountain Trails Gallery said of the artist. “His family was rounded up by Kit Carson.”
Natiya began sculpting more than ten years ago and has done several monuments that represent his people. Payne said “Legends of the Shadow,” had been in the works for more than two years.”
“The foundry process to cast it into bronze takes about six months,” he said.
The near life-size statue depicts a Native American man bound to an eagle flying out from buffalo and another Native American another wearing a bearskin. It sits near the entryway to a restaurant along with other works by Natiya and artists from Mountain Trails Gallery.