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• 1 2021-04-19T16:56:04+00:00 Portraying Indians 1 plain 2021-04-19T16:56:04+00:00

  McKenney and Hall

  One of the most important publications concerning American Indian life is the multi-volume History of the Indian Tribes of North America, published by Thomas McKenney (1785-1859) and James Hall (1793-1867). McKenney and Hall both served with the army in the Midwest; McKenney later went on to become Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the War Department. These volumes feature 120 color lithographs and biographical sketches of prominent Indians from the age of Pocahontas to the authors’ present day. The individuals portrayed include military figures, diplomats, tribal leaders, and writers.

  Catlin and Lewis

  For many Euro-American artists the indigenous peoples of North America were a romantic and exotic subject, and from this many stereotypes were born. Yet others attempted to portray native peoples as they encountered them, with minimal narrative interpretation; both George Catlin (1796-1872) and James Otto Lewis (1799-1858) left invaluable records of American Indians in the Midwest. Whereas Catlin chose to portray both prominent figures and lesser-known members of tribes he visited, Lewis focused on tribal leaders such as the famous Miami chief Francis Godfroy, whose descendants continue to live in Indiana today.

  Mary Eastman

  Mary Eastman (1818-1887), along with her U.S. army officer husband, chronicled the lives of the Dakota peoples in the eastern portion of the Minnesota Territory in the mid-nineteenth century.