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Art of the Plains Peoples (Art History)

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  1. Introduction
  2. Plains Indian art is a varied subject with a long history of scholarship and collecting both by private individuals and institutions. As such, the literature on the subject is rich and, especially recently, is strong in its visual presentation. Newer publications include large, crisp, colorful photographs that draw the viewer into the aesthetic splendor of the art created on the Plains. Earlier publications, by contrast, focus on the contextual interpretation of artworks (more specifically understood as ethno-historical artifacts at the time), mostly from an anthropological perspective. These anthropological approaches to Plains Indian art began in the early 20th century, and they remained the dominant perspective in the discipline at least until the late 1960s. During the 1980s and 1990s a tension arose between more “aesthetic” and anthropological frameworks of understanding art created by Native Americans. In the present, the tendency is toward an attempt at a balanced approach and, sometimes, an attempt at synthesis between the two. The study of Native art of the Plains, then, brings us not only to the artworks themselves and to the people who made them, but also to questions of framing and interpretation. This bibliography hints at some of these interpretive issues while being primarily concerned with the classification of sources according to their approach to the subject. These include general studies of Plains art and its relationship to culture; prominent among these more general studies are exhibition catalogs, which can be the work of a single author but more often contain several essays, each of which deals with a different aspect of the exhibition. Exhibitions are often organized around a group of works collected by an individual; thus, the motives of collectors and the history of collecting are an important aspect of writings about Plains Native art. A few studies focus on individual tribes of the Plains region. Others consider the relationship of art to important aspects of culture such as diplomacy or practices in warfare. A larger number of books delve into a specific medium or genre: ledger drawing, for instance, or tipis. These books allow for a comparative study of an artistic medium throughout the various regions of the Plains and across time. Finally, there is the discussion of both 20th-century and contemporary Native artists of the Plains, though these books are fewer in number. The emphasis in the literature, then, tends to be on art forms from the 19th century and earlier. From rock art to ledger drawings, there have been important studies of Native art of the Plains that have appeared only recently.
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  4. General Overviews
  5. There are a number of broad histories of Native American life on the Plains. Though not immediately concerned with art, these books will orient readers to the lifeways and historical changes in this vast, open region. Robert Harry Lowie’s book (Lowie 1982) is an early example of this type. Lowie was trained as an anthropologist so the book reflects that discipline; there is much detailed information on diet, kinship, and other general topics. Lowie is considered one of the founders of anthropology. He did his doctoral research on the Shoshone but became closely tied to the Crow through subsequent research; he wrote four books on that tribe, including one on their art in 1922. Lowie published on Native cultures from 1914 to his death in 1957 and, as a student of Franz Boas, reflects the formation of the discipline of American anthropology. A sweeping historical account of Native life prior to the 19th century, Calloway 2003 demonstrates that Native cultures were in a constant state of change. The book incorporates archaeology, anthropology, and oral history and produces compelling reading that is broadly synthetic in its approach. Calloway emphasizes the importance of the 18th century in relation to change in Native ways of life. The book traces the trade routes of the West and the importance of trade itself, both prior to and after the arrival of Europeans. Geographically, it spans the Appalachia region to the Pacific. The approach taken in Mails 1995 differs from the offerings by Lowie, the anthropologist, and Calloway, the historian. The book is a product of spiritual discovery by its author, Mails, a California-born artist who was drawn to the study of Native spiritual traditions. He had studied for the ministry in Minnesota and served three congregations over a period of eighteen years. The University of Oklahoma has published a collection of essays by the important Plains art scholar, John Ewers, that were published in periodicals from 1968–1992. Together, these treat a number of themes and media in Plains and/or Native American art and function as an overview of the field. Ewers pioneered the application of ethno-historical methodology to Plains art, combining data from ethnography, archaeology, and archival materials in order to address important questions about the relationship between Plains art and culture. Ewers 2011 consistently addresses the relationship of material culture to communication systems.
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  7. Calloway, Colin G. One Vast Winter Count: The Native American West before Lewis and Clark. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003.
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  11. Demonstrates that migrations in response to variations in climate and other ecological conditions were the norm. The Mississippi is treated as a conduit through Native regions rather than as a dividing line between the Woodlands and the Plains. The book is a major accomplishment and should appeal to any serious reader, though a consideration of a more introductory source first may be useful.
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  15. Ewers, John C. Plains Indian Art: The Pioneering Work of John C. Ewers. Edited by Jane Ewers Robinson. Introduction by Evan M. Maurer. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2011.
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  19. Ewers pioneered the use of fieldwork, archival research, and archaeology in the study of Plains art. He focused on the art’s communicative functions. These essays are collected in a single location for the first time and accompanied by more than 100 illustrations selected by Ewers himself. The volume is well designed and beautifully illustrated. The preface is by Candace Green, who was a colleague of Ewers at the Smithsonian Institution.
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  23. Ganteaume, Cécile R., ed. Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian. New York: Harper, 2010.
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  27. Focuses on the way that objects reveal a history of contact and change between peoples of the Americas. Includes sections written by specialists on each region of the Americas. The book includes images from NMAI that are published here for the first time. The book accompanies the exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian George Gustav Heye Center.
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  31. Hansen, Emma I. “People without Borders: Natives of the North American Plains.” In Visions of the West: Art and Artifacts from the Private Collections of J. P. Bryan, Torch Energy Advisors Incorporated and Others. Edited by Melissa Baldrige, 4–49. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 1999.
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  35. These objects are part of a large private collection with a focus on objects related to Texas. The Bryan collection is quite varied in its inclusivity of art from varied ethnic groups. The essay by Hansen emphasizes an ethos of Native self-affirmation on the Plains in the late 19th century, partly in resistance to assimilation.
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  39. Johnson, Michael G., and Bill Yenne. Arts & Crafts of the Native American Tribes. Buffalo: Firefly Books, 2011.
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  43. A broad survey of Native arts, organized by culture area and, following that, by medium. It is intended to be a primary and thorough reference work on Native art. The illustrations, both photographs and line drawings, are of high quality. The authors produced Encyclopedia of Native Tribes of North America in 2007, and this is intended as a complementary reference work.
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  47. Lowie, Robert Harry. Indians of the Plains. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982.
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  50.  
  51. Contains a small section on art, but also chapters on Plains architecture and dress, which are often discussed in relation to art. This is an older work, first published in 1954, and some of the language, e.g., “primitive peoples,” may be objectionable to some readers. Lowie’s approach is historical, emphasizing the idea of cultures in flux. Written at the end of his career, the book synthesizes a lifetime of study in clear language.
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  55. Mails, Thomas. The Mystic Warriors of the Plains: The Culture, Arts, Crafts and Religion of the Plains Indians. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1995.
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  59. Written by an artist, this is an in-depth sympathetic portrayal of the great horse cultures of the Plains. Originally published in 1972, the book is quite comprehensive with many maps and illustrations and has become one of the most influential popular books about Plains Indian life and belief.
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  63. O’Brien, Greg. The Timeline of Native Americans: The Ultimate Guide to North America’s Indigenous Peoples. San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay, 2008.
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  66.  
  67. A well-illustrated and useful chronology of Native peoples. Part of the World History Timeline series. Aids in gaining a sense of the temporal depth of Native experience, which stretches back many thousands of years.
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  71. Exhibition Catalogues
  72. In many cases, a useful introduction to Native American art of the Plains is from an exhibition catalogue. A number of exhibitions have featured art from the collection of a specific individual. These are useful in that they form a historical record of the tastes and motivations of an individual who has been interested enough in Native art to assemble a large number of examples; sometimes these motivations relate to the interests that were dominant within a culture at the time the collection was formed. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that the work included in such exhibitions has been filtered through the interests of a specific individual. By contrast, exhibitions consisting of works collected and curated by an institution such as a museum tend to reflect scholarly issues and a general level of understanding about Native art at a particular point in time. Both kinds of exhibition catalogues can act as introductions to Plains Indian art, but for somewhat different reasons.
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  74. Individual Private Collections
  75. These catalogues feature the collections of an individual. Batkin 1995 features clothing and bags decorated with both beadwork and quillwork accompanied by description that is conversational in tone. Berlo and Wardwell 1998 contains essays by two important specialists, Janet Catherine Berlo and T. J. Brasser. Berlo discusses ledger drawings, including their continuity with earlier drawings on hide as well as their ceremonial subject matter. Brasser discusses quillwork and beadwork from the Plains and the Eastern Woodlands. He analyzes the skill involved in the art forms, the messages conveyed by the designs, and regional variations and connections in design. Hirschfield and Winchell 2012 is an example of a catalogue with anecdotal commentary that gives insight into the collector’s motives. By contrast, Nagy 2009 includes both a contextual and “artistic” approach to the objects, which focuses on aesthetic values. Descriptions of the objects are by Emma Hanson, senior curator of the Plains Indian Museum, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Bernadette Brown, curator of African, Oceanic, and New World art at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, and Ted Brasser, noted scholar of Plains art. The descriptions are detailed and authoritative and the excellent photographs allow one to study the works individually, which is not always possible in an exhibition setting.
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  77. Batkin, Jonathan, ed. Splendid Heritage: Masterpieces of Native American Art from the Masco Collection. Santa Fe: Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, 1995.
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  80.  
  81. This is a catalogue for a museum exhibition of the same name; the Masco collection is an impressive private collection of Native American art. One of the participating scholars was Lakota. The discussion in the catalogue centers upon the communication function of the objects.
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  85. Berlo, Janet Catherine, and Allen Wardwell. Native Paths: American Indian Art from the Collection of Charles and Valerie Diker. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998.
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  88.  
  89. A catalogue for an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that featured over 100 objects from the Diker collection. The quality of color illustrations is high; there are more illustrations of quilling and beading than drawing. The original version is out of print, but the book is available through print on demand.
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  93. Hirschfield, Alan, and Terry Winchell. Living with American Indian Art: The Hirschfield Collection. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2012.
  94.  
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  96.  
  97. Features the collection of the former Hollywood executive Alan Hirschfield (he was once CEO of Twentieth Century Fox). Beautiful works in beadwork, hide, basketry, and more, most of which have not previously been published. The author, Winchell, is owner of an antiques business specializing in Native arts. High-quality photographic illustrations.
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  100.  
  101. Nagy, Clinton. Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2009.
  102.  
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  104.  
  105. Catalogue for an exhibition organized by the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Well illustrated with very high–quality large-scale images of 149 objects from the John and Marva Warnock Collection. The collection spans the mid-18th to mid-19th century. Thematically organized according to topics including ceremony and warfare. Original audio tour of exhibition is available online. Free scan of the complete catalogue is available online.
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  108.  
  109. Institutional Collections
  110. These exhibitions reflect the efforts of curators to present an overview of aspects of Plains art and culture based upon the collections of institutions. On occasion, such institutional efforts can become the focus of contention. Harrison 1987 was published at a time when there was great debate about the intellectual assumptions underlying the presentation of Native artworks to a broad public; the exhibition it was tied to became the subject of great controversy. As such, the book is useful for historiographic purposes; it exemplifies modes of presentation that have been subject to critical debate. As implied by its title, Circles of the World: Traditional Art of the Plains Indians (Conn 1982) explores the circle as a symbolic expression of Plains Natives’ values. The works in the catalogue were drawn from the vast Native collection of the Denver Art Museum, an institution that is one of the pioneers in the collection of Plains Indian art. Other institutional exhibitions may present scholarly problems of classification, cataloguing, and issues of ethnographic interpretation. Such was the case for “Premières Nations, Collections Royales: Les Indiens des forêts et des prairies d’Amérique do Nord” (Feest 2007). Some 100,000 objects made their way from North America to Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. This catalogue focuses on ethnographic classification of the works. An increasing strategy of museums has been to invite Natives themselves to participate in curatorial and interpretive activities, as is evident in “Memory and Vision: Arts, Cultures, and Lives of Plains Indian People” (Hansen 2007). In addition to the curator, Emma Hansen, herself a Native American, several other Native authors—Beatrice Medicine (Lakota), Gerard Baker (Mandan-Hidatsa), Joe Medicine Crow (Crow), Arthur Amiotte (Oglala Lakota), and Bently Spang (Northern Cheyenne Nation)—contributed to the volume. Institutions may try to foster cultural exchange and understanding through their exhibitions. King and Viola 2012 accompanied an exhibition in Florence, Italy, that commemorated the 500th anniversary of the death of Amerigo Vespucci. He was the Florentine navigator who is the namesake of the Americas. The exhibit was co-curated by Herman Viola, a curator emeritus of the Smithsonian Museum, who stated that one focus of the exhibition was to examine the impact that European trade goods had on Native arts and culture. Penney 1992 similarly focuses on white-Indian interaction and its influence on collecting in the North American context. Torrence 2014 is a very recent catalogue that aims at comprehensive coverage of Plains Indian art based on the long history of collecting by the French in America. It presents all of the major media of Plains art as well as the work of many nations.
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  112. Boehme, Sarah E., Gerald T. Conaty, Emma Hanson, et al. Powerful Images: Portrayals of Native America. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1998.
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  115.  
  116. Catalogue that accompanied a thematic exhibition concerning the relations between Natives and non-Native peoples as expressed in art. Emma Hansen’s essay focuses on the Plains. Some authors focus on problems of stereotyping while others discuss self-representation.
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  119.  
  120. Conn, Richard. Circles of the World: Traditional Art of the Plains Indians. No. 1. Denver: Denver Art Museum, 1982.
  121.  
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  123.  
  124. Catalogue of a traveling museum exhibition from 1982 to 1984. The exhibition and book present the circle as a symbol of family, tribe, and humanity to foster understanding of the deep functions of Plains art, especially in the 19th century. Clothing and tipis are the physical expression of the circle of family, whereas ceremonial and narrative arts express the circle of humanity. Visionary experiences are also explored using the circle as a unifying metaphor.
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  127.  
  128. Feest, Christian. Premières Nations, Collections Royales: Les Indiens des forêts et des prairies d’Amérique do Nord. Paris: Musée du Quai Branly, 2007.
  129.  
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  131.  
  132. A catalogue of the holdings of First Nations art at Musée du Quai Branly. A natural focus is on the historical connection between France and North America, with special attention paid to the evolution of the understanding of Native art from curiosity (exhibited in “cabinets of curiosities”) to “artwork.”
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  135.  
  136. Hansen, Emma I. Memory and Vision: Arts, Cultures, and Lives of Plains Indian People. Cody, WY: Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 2007.
  137.  
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  139.  
  140. Edited by a curator at the Plains Indian Museum, who is herself Native American (Pawnee), this book provides a broad introduction to Plains Indians’ lifeways, spirituality, and art. It accompanied the re-installation of the collection of Plains Indian art at the museum and presents more than 250 photographs of objects in the museum’s collections. The authors take care to deal with aspects of Plains Indian life prior to the development of the horse culture. The buffalo and its role in Plains culture, along with the effects that its decimation had upon Native peoples, are examined.
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  144. Harrison, Julia D. The Spirit Sings: Artistic Traditions of Canada’s First Peoples. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1987.
  145.  
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  147.  
  148. This book takes an anthropological approach based upon culture areas. It was a catalogue of an expensive, high-profile exhibition at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary that was timed to coincide with the 1988 Calgary Olympic Games. Shell Canada was one of the major corporate sponsors. The organization and sponsorship of the exhibition were controversial. See critical reviews of the exhibition in the Philosophy and Criticism section. See especially Brasser’s By the Power of Their Dreams: Artistic Traditions of the Northern Plains.
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  152. King, Duane H., and Herman J. Viola. La Nuova Frontiera: Storia e cultura dei native d’America dale collezioni del Gilcrease Museum. Livorno: Sillabe, 2012.
  153.  
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  155.  
  156. The new frontier: Native Americans’ history and culture from the Gilcrease Museum collections. Catalogue of works from the Thomas Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, exhibited in the Andito degli Angiolini, Galleria del costume, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, 3 July–9 December 2012. In this book the Indian cultural renaissance of the late 20th century to the present is placed in the context of 500 years of interaction and change. The book and exhibition are also, in part, a celebration of the passion of the collector, Thomas Gilcrease. The exhibition took place on the fiftieth anniversary of his death. It was the first time that many of the objects from the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa were exhibited outside of the United States. The book includes headdresses, clothing, jewelry, weaponry, portraiture, and the photography of Edward S. Curtis.
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  160. Penney, David W. Art of the American Indian Frontier: The Chandler-Pohrt Collection. Detroit: Detroit Institute of Arts, 1992.
  161.  
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  163.  
  164. An exhibition catalogue of a Native art collection that is now part of the Detroit Institute of Art. Well illustrated with essays by specialists. Includes Woodland and Great Lakes art in addition to Plains. A documentary film about the same collection (The Journey of the Chandler-Pohrt Collection), directed by Jeffrey Jones and available on VHS, is very useful for introducing issues of collecting into classroom discussion.
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  168. Torrence, Gaylord. The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky. New York: Skira Rizzoli, 2014.
  169.  
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  171.  
  172. Catalogue for an exhibition that aims to be comprehensive in its coverage of Plains art. Includes works collected by French traders and explorers as well as by Lewis and Clark. Torrence is senior curator of American Indian Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, where the exhibition is being held. It is organized by the Museé du quai Branly in Paris. (See Feest 2007.)
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  175.  
  176. Individual Curatorship
  177. Some institutional exhibitions may reflect the strong participation and perspective of a particular curator. Such was the case with Coe 1977. The author, Coe (b. 1929–d. 2010), was an art historian with roots in the study of European and African art as well as Native art. He brought an art historical understanding and appreciation to Native art at a time when it was still often seen in ethnological terms. Coe had personally collected more than 1,000 works of Native art. This book reflects the passion of an appreciative scholar-collector for Native art’s deep past and vital present. By contrast, Logan and Schmittou 1995 applies Darwinian evolutionary theory to cultural relations involving competition, status, marital structures and more.
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  179. Coe, Ralph T. Sacred Circles: Two Thousand Years of North American Indian Art. Kansas City: Nelson Gallery Foundation, 1977.
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  182.  
  183. This was a catalogue for a very large exhibition of Native art that was shown at both the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, where Coe was the director, and in Great Britain at the Hayward Gallery, London, timed to coincide with the US bicentennial. The subject is expansive chronologically and in its ethnic diversity. The goal was to foster an appreciation of the diversity of Native expression as well as its continued vitality into the present.
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  186.  
  187. Logan, Michael H., and Douglas A. Schmittou. With Pride They Made These: Tribal Styles in Plains Indian Art. Knoxville: Frank H. McClung Museum, University of Tennessee, 1995.
  188.  
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  190.  
  191. Catalogue published in conjunction with the exhibition “With Pride They Made These: Tribal Styles in Plains Indian Art” at the Frank H. McClung Museum, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 8 July–31 December 1995. The focus is on the role of material culture in expressing tribal ethnicity. One of the authors, Dr. Logan, is a professor of anthropology at the University of Tennessee with a strong interest in evolutionary theory.
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  195. Reference Works
  196. These reference sources emphasize comprehensive coverage of aspects of Plains Indian life. They are not exclusively focused on artwork, but they provide a good overview of contextual aspects to consider when studying Plains Indian art. The entry “Plains” from the Handbook of North American Indians (DeMallie 2001) focuses primarily on individual Indian societies; introductory material for each society includes maps and linguistic information. Native societies of Canada are given equal treatment. Editor Raymond DeMallie’s own scholarly focus is on the Lakota. “Native Americans” in Encyclopedia of the Great Plains (Wishart 2011) is similarly a multi-authored, authoritative treatment of Plains Indian culture. This encyclopedia is a production of the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. It is a truly comprehensive project dedicated to the Plains that discusses all of the peoples of the region as well as economic, cultural, and political issues pertinent to this predominantly rural land. Its editor, David Wishart, also edited Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. Wishart is a professor of geography at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and is an established scholar who has been writing about Native cultures for decades. Fowler 2003 is a thorough single-author survey of the general history of the Plains as well as the individual historical tribes. The book’s treatment is balanced, including the sedentary as well as nomadic peoples of the Plains and the tribes of the southern Plains as well as the north.
  197.  
  198. DeMallie, Raymond J., ed. Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 13 parts 1 and 2, Plains. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 2001.
  199.  
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  201.  
  202. Synthesizes the Plains Indian way of life from 12,000 BCE to the end of the 20th century. Decades in the making, the two parts are each about 700 pages and are well illustrated. This two-part volume includes sixty-six separately authored chapters. The survey is written from a comprehensive anthropological perspective. A rich repository of knowledge, but a Native perspective of “telling our own story” is not strongly present.
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  205.  
  206. Fowler, Loretta. The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Great Plains. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003.
  207.  
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  209.  
  210. This overview is balanced chronologically; while the 19th century is covered in detail, the 18th and the 20th are well discussed. The book draws on recent ethno-historical and archaeological research. It includes an annotated bibliography that points to tribal website resources in addition to books about Plains Indians.
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  213.  
  214. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. “Selected Bibliography on the Arts and Crafts of the Plains Indians.” 2007.
  215.  
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  217.  
  218. Bibliography with short annotations including several older, classic sources.
  219.  
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  221.  
  222. Wishart, David J., ed. “Native Americans.” In Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. Lincoln: University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 2011.
  223.  
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  225.  
  226. There are many individual entries related to Native people in this encyclopedia, from Native agriculture and architecture to the Wounded Knee Massacre, in addition to the entry cited here. This entry provides a quick historical overview of the region, and it is available online. The writing is accessible, even informal at times.
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  229.  
  230. Wishart, David, ed. Encyclopedia of the Great Plains Indians. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007.
  231.  
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  233.  
  234. Combines 123 entries from the Encyclopedia of the Great Plains along with 23 new entries. Includes entries on contemporary figures such as Leonard Peltier along with Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Well written, high-quality entries that provide a good starting point for the study of the Plains Indians. Vine Deloria’s introduction to the encyclopedia helps unify the subject, which is useful because achieving a unified narrative can sometimes be a problem with encyclopedic treatments.
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  237.  
  238. Textbooks
  239. These texts are suitable for general introductions to issues and historical examples within Native art. Berlo and Phillips 1998 is informed by analysis of cosmology and of social aspects of art. Penney 2004 considers the motivations of individual Native artists where possible in addition to placing art in its broad cultural context.
  240.  
  241. Berlo, Janet Catherine, and Ruth B. Phillips. Native North American Art. Oxford History of Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
  242.  
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  244.  
  245. An introduction to Native art of North America that includes one chapter on the Plains. This chapter provides a good introduction to the subject, particularly art of the 19th century. It is organized primarily according to women’s and men’s arts during the 19th century on the Plains, followed by a discussion of art during the reservation era. Reasonably priced and suitable for undergraduates, but only a portion of the book applies directly to the Plains.
  246.  
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  248.  
  249. Penney, David. North American Indian Art. World of Art. London: Thames and Hudson, 2004.
  250.  
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  252.  
  253. This book surveys the history of Native North American art from ancient times to the present. The introduction to the subject is general and comprehensive without being overwhelming in size and length.
  254.  
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  256.  
  257. Bibliographies
  258. A small number of bibliographies of Plains art have appeared. Spencer Art Reference Library 2014 compiles the sources found in its own collection, while Van Balen 2012 synthesizes a broad range of illustrative sources.
  259.  
  260. Spencer Art Reference Library. “Library Guide: Plains Indians.” Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. 2014.
  261.  
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  263.  
  264. An online pdf bibliographic resource of books in the collection of the Spencer Art Reference Library. The bibliography includes call numbers for quick location of sources; however, it is not annotated.
  265.  
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  267.  
  268. Van Balen, John. Great Plains Indian Illustration Index. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012.
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  271.  
  272. A useful guide to photographs, drawings, and maps in books about Native Americans of the Great Plains published since the 1920s. The author was a reference librarian at the University of South Dakota.
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  275.  
  276. Anthologies
  277. This section lists books, some of which are exhibition catalogues, that include the perspectives of multiple authors. In First American Art (Bernstein and McMaster 2004) the authors collectively attempt to formulate an indigenous aesthetic approach to Native art. Numerous authors discuss in detail many overarching themes in Native art including integrity, intimacy, and composition. Ted Brasser contributed one essay on the Plains (Brasser 2000) in an encyclopedic catalogue of art from throughout Native North America. The focus here is on the provenance of individual objects and their aesthetic appeal. Hero, Hawk and Open Hand: American Indian Art of the Ancient Midwest and South (Townsend and Sharp 2004) includes twenty essays that reflect the perspectives of Native scholars and community members. The book is well written and includes excellent photographic illustrations, many of works never before published. Hero, Hawk and Open Hand originated as an accompaniment for an exhibition of the same name at the Art Institute of Chicago (2004–2005). Visions of the People: A Pictorial History of Plains Indian Life (Maurer 1992) includes essays that focus on work of “known” artists in order to counter the anonymity that accompanies discussions of older objects. This book is the catalogue of an exhibition co-curated by Evan Maurer and held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It includes essays by noted scholars on a full range of arts. Another earlier work, Wade 1986, contains general thematic essays on topics such as meaning, aesthetics, and quality in Native American art that are applicable, of course, to the art of the Plains. The fourteen essays, therefore, present a way of understanding Native art that contrasts with the standard division of the field by culture areas. Sociological issues such as patronage and artistic training are considered. Native American Voices on Identity, Art, and Culture (Williams, et al. 2005) reflects the effort of a museum to empower Native peoples with the right to contextualize artworks from their own cultures. As such, the essays, intended for a general audience, reflect the newest phase in museums’ relationship to scholarship. These phases can be understood as evolutionism (1887–1912), historical particularism (1912–1994), and collaboration (1995–present). The book reflects a process of institutional re-definition as well as a spirit of collaboration.
  278.  
  279. Bernstein, Bruce, and Gerald McMaster, eds. First American Art: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of American Indian Art. Washington, DC: National Museum of the American Indian, 2004.
  280.  
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  282.  
  283. Several Native artists including Robert Davidson and Harry Fonseca participated in this project. The emphasis is on Native art as “art” in contrast to its role in ethnographic understanding. Some readers may find the detailed record of these works as artifacts to be lacking as a result.
  284.  
  285. Find this resource:
  286.  
  287. Brasser, Ted J. “The Plains.” In Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Edited by Gilbert T. Vincent, Sherry Brydon, and Ralph T. Coe, 103–185. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000.
  288.  
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  290.  
  291. The objects are from the collection of Eugene and Clare Thaw at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Brasser discusses examples of Plains beadwork, many of which feature the flag motif, one of the original focal points of interest for the Thaws. Ledger drawings by the Lakota chief Black Hawk are also included. Many of the images in the catalogue are in black and white.
  292.  
  293. Find this resource:
  294.  
  295. Maurer, Evan. Visions of the People: A Pictorial History of Plains Indian Life. Minneapolis: Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, 1992.
  296.  
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  298.  
  299. Contains several essays including George P. Horsecapture’s reflection on a feathered war bonnet and its relationship to identity and Peter J. Powell’s analysis of a Lakota painter, Standing Bear. Maurer’s own essay provides the broad introductory context of Plains art. David Penney analyzes the evolution of horse imagery in Plains art relative to cultural change.
  300.  
  301. Find this resource:
  302.  
  303. Townsend, Richard F., and Robert V. Sharp, eds. Hero, Hawk and Open Hand: American Indian Art of the Ancient Midwest and South. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2004.
  304.  
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  306.  
  307. The focus of this beautiful book is mostly the river valley regions of the Midwest and South that were centers of mound building. Though not directly a treatment of Plains art, there was a relationship between the ancient mound builders and peoples of the eastern Plains. Many of the Native inhabitants of the Plains today migrated there from the regions discussed in this book.
  308.  
  309. Find this resource:
  310.  
  311. Wade, Edwin L., ed. The Arts of the North American Indian: Native Traditions in Evolution. New York: Hudson Hills, 1986.
  312.  
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  314.  
  315. Produced by the Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, long a major force in collecting and displaying Native American art. This anthology contains essays on Plains ledger art by Gloria Young and European influences on Plains art by Norman Feder. But, the anthology is somewhat unbalanced in that there are no Native scholars and only one female scholar included.
  316.  
  317. Find this resource:
  318.  
  319. Williams, Lucy Fowler, William S. Wierzbowski, and Robert W. Preucel. Native American Voices on Identity, Art, and Culture: Objects of Everlasting Esteem. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 2005.
  320.  
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  322.  
  323. The comments of living members of Native cultures on historical works demonstrate that the objects themselves remain alive in the present. There are fifty-eight established Native artists and intellectuals who participated in the project. The book includes seventy-eight high-quality color plates. It represents a serious step in a new direction for historians and curators working in Native art history and archaeology.
  324.  
  325. Find this resource:
  326.  
  327. Magazines
  328. Magazines tend to be devoted to American Indian art in general, though they include many articles about Plains art within their covers. The longest standing magazine on Native art is American Indian Art Magazine. It publishes articles of use to collectors and scholars alike. First American Art Magazine was launched recently; it was created by artists who seek to reach a general public and who approach art from a recent critical perspective. Tribal Art Magazine offers a global perspective on the art of tribal peoples.
  329.  
  330. American Indian Art Magazine.
  331.  
  332. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  333.  
  334. Examines the history of specific media of Native art, delves into the nature of noted collections, details historical issues of subject matter and symbolism. This magazine has been in publication since the 1970s and is a solid resource for artists, scholars, and collectors.
  335.  
  336. Find this resource:
  337.  
  338. First American Art Magazine.
  339.  
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  341.  
  342. A new publication just launched in 2013. Its website describes the magazine as “driven by artists” and the vision statement says that the magazine “envisions a world with Indigenous cultural sovereignty. We achieve this by articulating and popularizing Indigenous critical theory in ways accessible to Native communities as well as the non-Native art world.”
  343.  
  344. Find this resource:
  345.  
  346. Tribal Art Magazine.
  347.  
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  349.  
  350. Includes arts of tribal people of the Americas as well as global tribal arts. Based in Belgium and published in both French and English.
  351.  
  352. Find this resource:
  353.  
  354. Studies of Individual Plains Cultures
  355. A few studies have been produced of the artwork produced by individual tribes. These vary in that some focus on art, while others are more political or economic in approach. Art of the Osage (Bailey, et al. 2004) is the first book to focus exclusively on Osage art. It considers major issues such as social organization, cosmology, aesthetics, and ritual in relation to their art. The Osage, like many other tribes, were forcibly relocated during the 19th century. Thus, this book considers art produced when the tribe was located in the Mississippi Valley region (from the Ozarks to the grasslands in the West) as well as in their homeland of northern Oklahoma. Another migration history is found in Torrence 1989. This account is of the Mesquakie, commonly known as the Fox tribe, who were originally settled in the area around Green Bay, Wisconsin. They migrated to Iowa in the 18th century and then to Kansas in the 19th. The book consists of essays that analyze their artistic production from their arrival in Iowa to the present. Blish 1967, a book about the Sioux, is an example of a work on a single tribe that resulted from direct contact with a key artist, Amos Bad Heart Bull. Scriver 1990 focuses on the art of a single tribe, the Blackfoot. Scriver (b. 1914–d. 1999) was a Montana sculptor, working in Western-style bronzes, and a student of Native cultures. He was born on the Blackfeet reservation. In his youth he knew the early explorer, guide, and historian of the Blackfeet, James Willard Schultz. Scriver’s collection, documented here, was sold to the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton. Fenn 2014 is a captivating story of the Mandan that features a detailed account of the web of trade that surrounded this famously friendly tribe. The Hidatsa are featured in a book, The Way to Independence: Memoirs of a Hidatsa Indian Family, 1840–1970 (Gilman and Schneider 1987), that draws upon interviews and archival photographs. Hamalainen 2008 re-situates Native peoples, especially the Comanche, from being considered as victims of European expansion and oppression to a view of them as active agents who built their own empire and competed with Europeans as equals. Though it may overstate its thesis, the book is tightly argued and provides an important challenge to the more conventional notion of the victimization of Native Americans.
  356.  
  357. Bailey, Garrick, Daniel C. Swan, John W. Nunley, and E. Sean Standing Bear. Art of the Osage. St. Louis: Saint Louis Art Museum, 2004.
  358.  
  359. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  360.  
  361. The authors discuss a full range of artistic objects, including cradle boards, beadwork and ribbon work, war clubs, feather fans, dance costumes, and more. The book is handsomely designed and well illustrated. Its scholarship makes it useful for specialists, and its visual qualities will appeal to general audiences. The book was originally a catalogue from an exhibition held at the St. Louis Art Museum 13 March–8 August 2004.
  362.  
  363. Find this resource:
  364.  
  365. Blish, Helen H. A Pictographic History of the Oglala Sioux. Drawings by Amos Bad Heart Bull. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1967.
  366.  
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  368.  
  369. Amos Bad Heart Bull (b. 1868–d. 1913) was an Oglala Sioux ledger artist and a tribal historian. Helen Blish was a graduate student from the University of Nebraska who studied the drawings from photographs that she made of them with the permission of Bad Heart Bull’s sister for her thesis in the 1930s. This is a publication of that thesis; it contains hundreds of Bad Heart Bull’s drawings and detailed analysis of them.
  370.  
  371. Find this resource:
  372.  
  373. Fenn, Elizabeth. Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People. New York: Hill and Wang, 2014.
  374.  
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  376.  
  377. The Mandan are one of the peoples who arrived on the Plains earlier than others. They were famous for their friendliness but suffered a decline in fortune as they encountered disease, pests, and outsiders. The author resituates the Mandan as a central “heart” of the trade and culture of North America, countering the current tendency to focus on the coasts.
  378.  
  379. Find this resource:
  380.  
  381. Gilman, Carolyn, and Mary Jane Schneider. The Way to Independence: Memories of a Hidatsa Indian Family, 1840–1920. Publications of the Minnesota Historical Society, Museum Exhibit Series 3. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1987.
  382.  
  383. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  384.  
  385. Extensively illustrated from important well-documented collections of Hidatsa materials based upon individual interviews, collections, and photographs done by Gilbert L. Wilson. Gives detailed information about the daily lives of a Hidatsa family. Available in an inexpensive reprint.
  386.  
  387. Find this resource:
  388.  
  389. Hamalainen, Pekka. The Comanche Empire. The Lamar Series in Western History. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008.
  390.  
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  392.  
  393. The critical discussion of the book concerns whether the term empire is applied appropriately in its title and thesis. But, Hamalainen’s presentation of evidence that the Comanche used power to extend influence and control over others is strong. This influence occurred through trade in slaves and goods, so material production was one medium of influence for the Comanche.
  394.  
  395. Find this resource:
  396.  
  397. Montgomery, Lindsay. “Indigenous Aesthetics: Re-examining the Role of Geometric Designs in Blackfoot Society.” Museum Anthropology.
  398.  
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  400.  
  401. An analysis of designs by Blackfeet women as constituting an indigenous aesthetic with important economic and social meanings for the Blackfoot. Based upon the author’s study of 166 Blackfoot items at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) and the Denver Art Museum (DAM). Montgomery is a graduate student at Stanford University.
  402.  
  403. Find this resource:
  404.  
  405. Mooney, James. In Sun’s Likeness and Power: Cheyenne Accounts of Shield and Tipi Heraldry. Transcribed and edited by Father Peter J. Powell. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2013.
  406.  
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  408.  
  409. An important early source based upon fifty interviews with Cheyenne elders conducted by Mooney between 1902 and 1906. Mooney (b. 1861–d. 1921) researched Native cultures for thirty-five years and was recognized as an expert on the subject.
  410.  
  411. Find this resource:
  412.  
  413. Scriver, Bob. The Blackfeet: Artists of the Northern Plains. Kansas City, MO: Lowell, 1990.
  414.  
  415. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  416.  
  417. Visually presents The Scriver Collection of Blackfeet Indian artifacts and related objects. Includes illustrations, many in color, of over 300 objects. The book is mostly an uninterpreted photographic presentation of the objects in Scriver’s collection. He sought to document the collection before sending it to Edmonton, where it is now housed, for study.
  418.  
  419. Find this resource:
  420.  
  421. Torrence, Gaylord. Art of the Red Earth People: The Mesquakie of Iowa. Iowa City: University of Iowa Museum of Art, 1989.
  422.  
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  424.  
  425. Catalogue prepared in conjunction with an exhibition held at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, 14 January–26 February 1989. Several media are considered: from ribbon appliqué to silverwork, to painting and drawing. Photographs of more than a third of the 188 objects from the exhibition are included.
  426.  
  427. Find this resource:
  428.  
  429. Wissler, Clark. Some Protective Designs of the Dakota. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1907.
  430.  
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  432.  
  433. Available online. Very early source that includes shield designs, designs from Ghost Dance garments, and engraved designs. The concept of protection follows from the statements of Natives interviewed by Wissler. Illustrated with black and white drawings.
  434.  
  435. Find this resource:
  436.  
  437. Art, Warfare, and Warriors
  438. Warfare and warrior associations were defining features of Plains cultural life; these sources consider military aspects of art. Max Carocci is associated with the British Museum and teaches indigenous arts of the Americas at the college level in Great Britain. He authored two other books about Plains Indian culture prior to writing Warriors of the Plains (Carocci 2012), which focuses on Plains warrior societies. Dempsey 2007 is by a native author (Blood) who came to the topic of Blackfoot war art by observing his male relatives using old Blackfoot war symbols in the context of 20th-century conflicts. For Dempsey, the art expresses the fact that a “war ethic” is a unifying force within the varied Blackfoot tribes (Blackfoot, Siksika, Blood, Kainai, Piegans). Dempsey’s methodology includes interviews with many tribal members. The book is somewhat rare in its inclusion of recent paintings with earlier pictographs. Green 2004 presents the author’s own collection of objects, which was exhibited at Great Britain’s Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (17 July–5 September 2004). Some of these objects, such as early-20th-century postcards, provide a record of the perception of Plains Indians by whites. Stereotypical views of Natives, perpetuated in the western, are presented and critiqued. Taylor 1975 presents evidence of the ethos of bravery in warfare as expressed by Natives themselves. For All to See (Brizee-Bowen 2003) takes a similar perspective, though it focuses exclusively on the Little Bighorn Battle.
  439.  
  440. Brizee-Bowen, Sandra L. For All to See: The Little Bighorn Battle in Plains Indian Art. Hidden Springs of Custeriana 13. Spokane, WA: Arthur H. Clark, 2003.
  441.  
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  443.  
  444. Contains drawings of the famous battle made by Native American survivors. Expensive given its short length, but of interest for Native views of military history.
  445.  
  446. Find this resource:
  447.  
  448. Carocci, Max. Warriors of the Plains: The Arts of Plains Indian Warfare. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2012.
  449.  
  450. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  451.  
  452. Carocci’s focus is on Plains warrior societies and their relationship to contemporary Native American military associations; he notes that such societies are important sources of historical continuity on the Plains. Clothing, amulets, and weapons are some of the media that Carocci considers. He makes ample use of photographs from the British Museum’s archives as well as many objects from its collection; many of these are previously unpublished.
  453.  
  454. Find this resource:
  455.  
  456. Dempsey, Lloyd James. Blackfoot War Art: Pictographs of the Reservation Period, 1880–2000. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.
  457.  
  458. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  459.  
  460. This book considers pictographs painted on rock surfaces, tipis, buffalo robes, and, later, canvas panels that depicted the experience of war, both to honor the acts of warriors and to encourage and prepare them for future conflicts. Painted robes are a particular point of focus, and these are discussed chronologically. Of use for those interested in a Native perspective on war and its expression in art as a well as a general introduction to Blackfoot societies. Contains numerous maps and visually arresting illustrations.
  461.  
  462. Find this resource:
  463.  
  464. Green, Richard. A Warrior I Have Been: Plains Indian Cultures in Transition: The Richard Green Collection of Plains Indian Art. Folsom, CA: Written Heritage, 2004.
  465.  
  466. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  467.  
  468. A study of Plains Indian material and visual culture. It includes both objects created by Plains people and those by outsiders. Contains over 200 color photographs in addition to black and white period postcards. Of use for viewing Plains culture through the eyes of a British enthusiast and crafter, as well as being an accessible introduction to various aspects of Plains culture.
  469.  
  470. Find this resource:
  471.  
  472. Hämäläinen, Riku. Bear Power Motifs on Plains Indian Shields. Wyk auf Foehr, Germany: Tatanka, 2010.
  473.  
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  475.  
  476. Bärenmotive in Schildbemalungen der Plainsindianer. German translation by Dietmar Kuegler. This book is based upon the author’s doctoral research. He is now a professor at the University of Helsinki. Hämäläinen discusses the religious of significance of Plains shields as well as the particular symbolism of the grizzly bear.
  477.  
  478. Find this resource:
  479.  
  480. McLaughlin, Castle. A Lakota War Book from the Little Bighorn: The Pictographic “Autobiography of Half Moon.” Cambridge, MA: Houghton Library of the Harvard College Library, 2013.
  481.  
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  483.  
  484. Mclaughlin’s book analyzes a set of drawings found in a funerary tipi on the Little Bighorn battlefield after Custer’s defeat. She demonstrates that the works are by several warriors, not solely by one chief as had previously been proposed. The drawings constitute a rare graphic account by native warriors of battles on the Plains that probably occurred during the 1860s.
  485.  
  486. Find this resource:
  487.  
  488. Taylor, Colin F. The Warriors of the Plains. New York: Arco, 1975.
  489.  
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  491.  
  492. Includes culture, arts, crafts, and religion of the Plains Indians, with special emphasis on the Cheyenne, Dakota, and Comanche. Numerous illustrations of clothing and ceremonies. Extensive documentation of the ethos of bravery in warfare that is not limited to discussions of battles between whites and Native peoples.
  493.  
  494. Find this resource:
  495.  
  496. Taylor, Colin F., and Hugh A. Dempsey, eds. The People of the Buffalo. Vol. 1, The Plains Indians of North America, Military Art, Warfare and Change: Essays in Honor of John C. Ewers. Wyk auf Foehr, Germany: Tatanka, 2003.
  497.  
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  499.  
  500. The book includes an unpublished article by Ewers titled “Military Art of the Plains Indians.” In addition there are sixteen essays by leading scholars of Plains art. Robe and tipi painting, heraldry, and medicine bundles are just a few of the many military-related topics that are discussed.
  501.  
  502. Find this resource:
  503.  
  504. Women’s Art
  505. This section foregrounds books about women’s mastery of specific artistic media including quillwork, clothing, and quilting. Other sources concern the general role of women in art. Medicine 2007 investigates Plains women and children and the objects associated with them. Pearce 2013 considers how an artistic practice traditionally associated with men, ledger art, has been adopted by contemporary women artists to tell the stories of their lives and achievements. Schneider 1983 is an early argument for fluidity in conceptions of gender roles in art. Anderson 2013 considers intergenerational dimensions of women’s art.
  506.  
  507. Anderson, Jeffrey D. Arapaho Women’s Quillwork: Motion, Life, and Creativity. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2013.
  508.  
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  510.  
  511. The author concentrates on the ceremonial functions and religious meanings of quillwork for the Arapaho. In that context, sacred quillwork patterns were passed down intergenerationally and quilling new objects was an important way that women participated in ceremonial life. A strong contribution to the literature on quillworking.
  512.  
  513. Find this resource:
  514.  
  515. Her Many Horses, Emil. Identity by Design: Tradition, Change, and Celebration in Native Women’s Dresses. New York: Collins, 2007.
  516.  
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  518.  
  519. A book published to accompany an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. The scholarship is suggestive and the production quality of the book is high. Much of the clothing represented and discussed is from the Plains. The book is most arresting in its visual presentation of the dresses, but it functions more as an engaging introduction to the topic that invites further research on specific aspects of women’s clothing than as a full academic treatment of the subject.
  520.  
  521. Find this resource:
  522.  
  523. Medicine, Beatrice. “Land of Many Gifts—Women’s Roles.” In Memory and Vision: Arts, Cultures, and Lives of Plains Indian People. Edited by Emma Hansen. Cody, WY: Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 2007.
  524.  
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  526.  
  527. Noted Lakota anthropologist Beatrice Medicine discusses women’s roles in Plains art.
  528.  
  529. Find this resource:
  530.  
  531. Pearce, Richard. Women and Ledger Art: Four Contemporary Native American Artists. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2013.
  532.  
  533. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  534.  
  535. The book focuses on the work of Sharron Ahtone Harjo (Kiowa), Colleen Cutschall (Oglala Lakota), Linda Haukaas (Sicangu Lakota) and Dolores Purdy Corcoran (Caddo). It is based on six years of close communication between the author and these women ledger artists. A retired professor of English, Pearce is closely attuned to the narrative content of the drawings that he analyzes.
  536.  
  537. Find this resource:
  538.  
  539. Schneider, Mary Jane. “Women’s Work: An Examination of Women’s Roles in Plains Indian Arts and Crafts.” In The Hidden Half: Studies of Plains Indian Women. By Patricia Albers and Beatrice Medicine, 101–121. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1983.
  540.  
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  542.  
  543. This paper is an early example of a gender-based analysis of art of the Plains. Schneider notes that gender divisions were not as rigid as has typically been assumed, and that there was a hierarchy within the society of women artists. She identifies the specific crafts that were the most lucrative for women. The article is available in its entirety online but is not illustrated.
  544.  
  545. Find this resource:
  546.  
  547. Wissler, Clark. Symbolism in the Decorative Art of the Sioux. Easton, PA: Eschenbach, 1905.
  548.  
  549. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  550.  
  551. Focuses upon quillwork and beadwork primarily by women artists. Includes discussion of both religious and aesthetic aspects of the work.
  552.  
  553. Find this resource:
  554.  
  555. Art and Diplomacy
  556. This is an emerging area for scholarly analysis in Plains art. For instance, Arts of Diplomacy (McLaughlin, et al. 2003) situates Lewis and Clark’s efforts in the context of diplomacy as much as exploration and scientific investigation. Native artworks, then, are understood in relation to cross-cultural processes such as trade and gifting for strategic purposes that had already existed between Native peoples prior to European contact. Several contemporary Native artists were interviewed to help establish the meaning of the works in Lewis and Clark’s collection, and this adds compelling force to the interpretation of them. The essays present Native Americans as active negotiators and political agents; Natives were the individuals who chose the objects to present to Lewis and Clark. What they chose tells us much about their part in the grand epic of interaction between two peoples.
  557.  
  558. McLaughlin, Castle, Gaylord Torrence, Mike Cross, et al. Arts of Diplomacy: Lewis and Clarks’ Indian Collection. Cambridge, MA: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 2003.
  559.  
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  561.  
  562. The objects from the Peabody collection are presented with high-quality color photography and extensive documentation as to their possible sources. This search for provenance yields rich histories of the objects’ original purposes related to trade and diplomacy. Objects considered include hats, robes, bags, flutes, and rare raven belt ornaments.
  563.  
  564. Find this resource:
  565.  
  566. Art and Spirituality
  567. A common way of thinking about Native cultures in the present, but not a common topic of specialized studies in relationship to Plains art. The dream or vision is often cited as a source of inspiration for Plains Indian art by both Natives and non-Native scholars. Irwin 1996 is an investigation into the spiritual and psychological states associated with visions. It is an important topic because the vision can be seen as the central element of much Plains religion and has been seen as such by outsiders for a long time. The book considers the limitations of European-derived psychological theory for understanding dreaming in this religious context. This is an important scholarly work in an area that is often prone to obfuscation. Mooney 2013 considers how shields are living, spirit-filled things that radiate power in order to protect. This is one of several impressive books on the northern Cheyenne and the Crow edited by Peter J. Powell, who has been writing about Native cultures since the 1960s. Taylor 1994 offers a broad introduction that situates Plains spirituality in the context of language, myth, art, and warfare.
  568.  
  569. Irwin, Lee. The Dream Seekers: Native American Visionary Traditions of the Great Plains. Civilization of the American Indian Series 213. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996.
  570.  
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  572.  
  573. The foreword by Vine Deloria presents the book as a substantial effort to go to the heart of Native spirituality in a time when there is much misinformation on this topic. Irwin’s analysis is based upon more than 350 dreams collected from Plains ethnographic sources and another 200 dreams from outside the Plains as a basis for comparison. However, the author did not collect the dream narratives, which is a methodological limitation for some critics. Issues of cosmography, isolation and suffering, rites and preparation, and visionary arts are considered.
  574.  
  575. Find this resource:
  576.  
  577. Mooney, James. In Sun’s Likeness and Power: Cheyenne Accounts of Shield and Tipi Heraldry. Edited by Peter J. Powell. University of Nebraska Press, 2013.
  578.  
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  580.  
  581. This book results from interviews with fifty Cheyenne elders, conducted between 1902 and 1906 by James Mooney (b. 1861–d. 1921), one of the early leaders in Native American anthropology. Over a five-decade span Mooney’s notes were edited and annotated by Father Peter J. Powell, research associate of the Newberry Library in Chicago and the spiritual director of St. Augustine’s Center for American Indians, Inc., in Chicago. The two-volume set contains 150 color illustrations. (See also Studies of Individual Plains Cultures.)
  582.  
  583. Find this resource:
  584.  
  585. Taylor, Colin F. The Plains Indians: A Cultural and Historical View of the North American Plains Tribes of the Pre-Reservation Period. London: Salamander, 1994.
  586.  
  587. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  588.  
  589. A discussion of the cosmology and mythology, language, religion, arts, song, and warfare of many of the tribes on the Plains. It is colorfully illustrated and introductory in tone. Taylor has written several books on Native cultures including Buckskin and Buffalo: The Artistry of the Plains Indians, which is discussed in the Artistic Media and Genres: Hide Work section.
  590.  
  591. Find this resource:
  592.  
  593. Artistic Media and Genres
  594. This lengthy section indicates that studies of specific artistic media are popular and common in considering Plains Indian art. This section includes multiple subheadings ranging from Basketry to Winter Counts, which are painted on hides. In some cases, authors are interested in historical expressions within media that are associated with the ancient archaeological record (Rock Art). In most cases, though, the concern is with living techniques and examples.
  595.  
  596. Basketry
  597. Natives from several regions of North America historically used basketry as a medium. Wyckoff 2001 is organized according to eight culture regions, one of which is the “Prairie & Plains.”
  598.  
  599. Wyckoff, Lydia L., ed. Woven Worlds: Basketry from the Clark Field Collection. Tulsa, OK: Philbrook Museum of Art, 2001.
  600.  
  601. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  602.  
  603. Documents the extensive (more than 1,000 examples) basket collection of Tulsa businessman Clark Field, now in the collection of the Philbrook Museum. Field estimated that he traveled 125,000 miles in assembling his collection. The book accompanied an exhibition that took place at Philbrook 11 March–20 May 2001. The Plains is one of eight cultural areas presented. The book includes 100 color plates.
  604.  
  605. Find this resource:
  606.  
  607. Beadwork
  608. Orchard 2012, Wildschut and Ewers 1985, and Wissler 1905 include some description of technique, but these are primarily historical sources demonstrating the long fascination that beadwork has held for Plains art enthusiasts.
  609.  
  610. Orchard, William C. Beads and Beadwork of the American Indians. BoD–Books on Demand, 2012.
  611.  
  612. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  613.  
  614. A reprint of the book originally published on 1929 based on the collection of the Heye Foundation. Investigates the variety of beads traditionally used and the method of the manufacture of beadwork. A scan of the original edition can be found online at the Open Library.
  615.  
  616. Find this resource:
  617.  
  618. Wildschut, William, and John Canfield Ewers. Crow Indian Beadwork: A Descriptive and Historical Study. Contributions from the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 16. Ogden, UT: Eagle’s View, 1985.
  619.  
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  621.  
  622. This study derives from a manuscript first produced by Wildschut in 1927. It was an important work that clearly distinguished Crow beadwork from that of the Western Sioux. Ewers expanded upon that research thirty years later, in 1957. This book, while authoritative and scholarly, is illustrated primarily in black and white, which is an obvious limitation for the study of beadwork. Of use to researchers interested in the history of scholarship of beadwork.
  623.  
  624. Find this resource:
  625.  
  626. Wissler, Clark. “Decorative Art of the Sioux Indians.” Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 18.3 (1905): 231–278.
  627.  
  628. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  629.  
  630. Article deals specifically with the construction techniques and the designs used by the Dakota Indians, especially in relation to religious and aesthetic purposes. A pdf file is available for download online. (See Women’s Art.)
  631.  
  632. Find this resource:
  633.  
  634. Clothing
  635. Clothing arises from function, related to climate, but, on the Plains, has very important ceremonial meanings attached to it. Brasser 2009 pays close attention to environmental reasons as to why clothing developed the way it did in specific locales. This follows the analysis of clothing that had begun with Wissler as discussed by Ewers 1980, which establishes a chronology of clothing materials and styles in the Northern Plains and then distinguishes the tradition from that of the Southern Plains. Horse Capture and Horse Capture 2001, authored by a father and son, discuss symbolic and ceremonial functions of clothing; familial and spiritual aspects of clothing are addressed. The Horse Capture book is organized thematically rather than chronologically. Though made to honor brave men, the shirts considered by the authors were made by women from hides tanned by women. Thus, they represent the complementary relationship between the sexes in Plains culture. Koch 1988 and Wissler 1915 focus more upon the construction of clothing.
  636.  
  637. Brasser, Ted. Native American Clothing: An Illustrated History. Buffalo, NY: Firefly, 2009.
  638.  
  639. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  640.  
  641. This is a broad survey of all aspects of the subject. Only a section of the book concerns clothing of the Plains. However, there are more than 300 photographs of objects drawn from multiple museum collections by a known expert on Native arts. The author employs period photographs and paintings to show the clothing in context.
  642.  
  643. Find this resource:
  644.  
  645. Ewers, John C. “Climate, Acculturation, and Costume: A History of Women’s Clothing among the Indians of the Southern Plains.” Plains Anthropologist 24 (1980): 63–82.
  646.  
  647. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  648.  
  649. In this essay Ewers responds to the history of scholarship of Plains clothing, especially the ideas published by Clark Wissler as early as 1915. Interesting for historiographic research as well as for the content regarding clothing itself. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
  650.  
  651. Find this resource:
  652.  
  653. Horse Capture, Joseph D., and George P. Horse Capture. Beauty, Honor, and Tradition: The Legacy of Plains Indian Shirts. Washington, DC: National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, 2001.
  654.  
  655. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  656.  
  657. A book made to accompany a traveling exhibition of the same name. The focus of the book is on shirts made to honor warriors for their bravery in battle. The authors, who are father and son, discuss the shirts’ designs, their embellishment, and the continued significance of shirts in this tradition down to the late 20th century. Fifty-three shirts are represented, with the earliest example being from 1820. The most colorful examples of the shirts come from the Crow, who are emphasized in the book.
  658.  
  659. Find this resource:
  660.  
  661. Koch, Ronald. Dress Clothing of the Plains Indians. Civilization of American Indian Series 140. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988.
  662.  
  663. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  664.  
  665. Contains many illustrations and step-by-step instructions for making Plains clothing, reflecting the author’s own interest in creating regalia. However, Koch engaged in detailed research to enhance the accuracy of understanding of traditional dress and to point out the distinctions that existed between the various tribes of the Plains. The focus is more on male than female dress styles, and the book is not heavily illustrated.
  666.  
  667. Find this resource:
  668.  
  669. Wissler, Clark. “Costumes of the Plains Indians.” In Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History. Vol. 17, part 2, 39–91. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1915.
  670.  
  671. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  672.  
  673. A well-illustrated reference on construction and decoration of Plains Indian dresses, shirts, leggings, and breech-clouts, but the focus is on the man’s shirt and the woman’s dress. The book has been scanned and is available online.
  674.  
  675. Find this resource:
  676.  
  677. Dolls
  678. Dolls can be items for childhood play, but they are also sometimes elaborate miniature representations of a people. Johnson and Taubman 2003 documents this second tendency.
  679.  
  680. Johnson, Twig, and Ellen Napira Taubman. Connecting Generations: Contemporary American Indian Dolls. Montclair, NJ: Montclair Art Museum, 2003.
  681.  
  682. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  683.  
  684. The doll makers here are from the Plains. But, more than dolls, the works represented are detailed figures with accurate costumes.
  685.  
  686. Find this resource:
  687.  
  688. Drawings
  689. The books in this section focus on ledger drawings, a genre of art that emerged out of interaction between Natives and non-Natives in the second half of the 19th century. Many of these drawings were made by Natives who were imprisoned at Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Florida. Petersen 1968; Petersen 1971; and Earenfight, et al. 2007 focus on that historical moment. Petersen presents biographical information about Howling Wolf, one of the prisoners, and insightful interpretations of individual drawings by the artist that were completed at Fort Marion in St. Augustine. A Kiowa’s Odyssey: A Sketchbook from Fort Marion is the first book to reconstruct the original elements of one of the sketchbooks. The book stands out as a multi-authored interdisciplinary contribution to the field of manuscript reconstruction. Szabo 2007 considers the varied approaches of seven Fort Marion artists from different cultural backgrounds as well as the influence of non-Native artists on them. Donnelley 2000 focuses on an individual artist, a shift in art historical focus afforded by the emergence of ledger drawings. Donnelley shows how the artist, Silver Horn, lived during a time of great cultural transition, and his ledger drawings, paintings, and other works expressed these dramatic changes in the lives of the Kiowa. McLaughlin 2013 documents a set of drawings that were found at a funerary tipi near the Little Bighorn battlefield after the famous battle with Custer. The author persuasively argues the importance of ledger drawings in documenting military history in this important new scholarship.
  690.  
  691. Bates, Craig D., Bonnie B. Kahn, and Benson L. Lanford. The Cheyenne/Arapaho Ledger Book, from the Pamplin Collection. Edited by Kenneth E. Kahn II. Portland, OR: Robert B. Pamplin Jr., 2003.
  692.  
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  694.  
  695. A short book, printed in a small edition, that presents ledger drawings contained in a large private collection.
  696.  
  697. Find this resource:
  698.  
  699. Berlo, Janet Catherine, ed. Plains Indian Drawings, 1865–1935: Pages from a Visual History. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.
  700.  
  701. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  702.  
  703. Focus is on ledger drawings, with many color illustrations included. Considers issues of structure and meaning, intercultural interaction, and cultural resistance. Includes statements by contemporary artists, such as Colleen Cutschall, Edgar Heap of Birds, and Jane Ash Poitras, who have been influenced by Plains drawings.
  704.  
  705. Find this resource:
  706.  
  707. Calloway, Colin G., ed. Ledger Narratives: The Plains Indian Drawings of the Lansburgh Collection at Dartmouth College. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2012.
  708.  
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  710.  
  711. Lansburgh’s collection is the largest known collection of ledger drawings, and it was acquired by Dartmouth University in 2007. This book presents color reproductions of all of the 140 drawings in the collection and seven new essays on the genre.
  712.  
  713. Find this resource:
  714.  
  715. Donnelley, Robert G. Transforming Images: The Art of Silver Horn and His Successors. Chicago: David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, 2000.
  716.  
  717. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  718.  
  719. A rare focus on the body of work of an individual Native artist. Silver Horn anticipated the art of the Kiowa Five, who were among the first major easel painters in Native art history. This volume contains seventy-five color photos of images from the exhibit, Transforming Images, which was held at the Alfred Smart Museum of Art.
  720.  
  721. Find this resource:
  722.  
  723. Earenfight, Phillip, Janet Catherine Berlo, Brad D. Lookingbill, and George Miles. A Kiowa’s Odyssey: A Sketchbook from Fort Marion. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2007.
  724.  
  725. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  726.  
  727. A re-creation of a sketchbook made by one of the Native prisoners forcibly transferred to Fort Marion in Florida. Etahdleuh Doanmoe (Kiowa) made the drawings at Fort Marion in 1877, possibly at the request of the prisoners’ jailer, Lieutenant Pratt. The original sketchbook was annotated, possibly by Pratt himself. Pratt then gave the sketchbook as a gift to his son.
  728.  
  729. Find this resource:
  730.  
  731. Greene, Candace S. Silver Horn: Master Illustrator of the Kiowas. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002.
  732.  
  733. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  734.  
  735. This book presents the art of the prolific Kiowa artist of the reservation period, Silver Horn. The artist produced more than 1,000 images illustrating many aspects of Kiowa life during this transitional period. Greene gives us a biography of the artist and a study of the artist’s role in Kiowa society.
  736.  
  737. Find this resource:
  738.  
  739. McLaughlin, Castle. A Lakota War Book from the Little Bighorn: The Pictographic “Autobiography of Half Moon.” Cambridge, MA: Houghton Library of the Harvard College Library, 2013.
  740.  
  741. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  742.  
  743. McLaughlin’s scholarship demonstrates that the drawings were produced by several individual artists. Fittingly, the imagery of these early ledger drawings is primarily of warfare, and they afford an examination of the impact of military conflict with whites on Native life. A related exhibit of Lakota artwork was on display at the Peabody Museum, Harvard, through 2014.
  744.  
  745. Find this resource:
  746.  
  747. Petersen, Karen Daniels. Howling Wolf: A Cheyenne Warrior’s Graphic Interpretation of His People. Palo Alto, CA: American West, 1968.
  748.  
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  750.  
  751. An early treatment of ledger drawings. Howling Wolf was a Cheyenne chief’s son. Petersen presents biographical information about him and insightful interpretations of individual drawings by the artist that were completed at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida. Images depict historical events in Cheyenne history as well as Howling Wolf’s individual memories. Twelve of the drawings are printed in full-sized plates and in color. The noted scholar John C. Ewers wrote the introduction for this nicely designed book.
  752.  
  753. Find this resource:
  754.  
  755. Petersen, Karen Daniels. Plains Indian Art from Fort Marion. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1971.
  756.  
  757. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  758.  
  759. An early illustrated account of the graphic art produced by Southern Plains Indians while they were imprisoned at Fort Marion, Florida, during the mid-1870s.
  760.  
  761. Find this resource:
  762.  
  763. Szabo, Joyce M. Howling Wolf and the History of Ledger Art. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1994.
  764.  
  765. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  766.  
  767. Book based upon the author’s dissertation from the University of New Mexico (1983). Howling Wolf was an important Southern Cheyenne warrior and artist. His work responded to the drastic changes taking place in Native lives during the reservation period.
  768.  
  769. Find this resource:
  770.  
  771. Szabo, Joyce M. Art from Fort Marion: The Silberman Collection. Western Legacies Series 4. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.
  772.  
  773. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  774.  
  775. Considers art made at Fort Marion between 1875 and 1878. The works are approached as first-person narratives of the prisoners’ experiences. Begins with a consideration of the collector, Arthur Silberman of Oklahoma City, and his motives. In addition, the author considers the specific context of Fort Marion and St. Augustine. Contains 120 high-quality color images and insightful scholarly analysis.
  776.  
  777. Find this resource:
  778.  
  779. Feather Use
  780. Feather use, of course, is strongly associated with Plains cultures. Frank G. Speck, a student of Franz Boas, the founder of American anthropology, authored an early study of the topic (Speck 1928).
  781.  
  782. Speck, Frank G. “Notes on the Functional Basis of Decoration and the Feather Technique of the Oglala Sioux.” In Indian Notes. Vol. 5. 1–42. New York: Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 1928.
  783.  
  784. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  785.  
  786. The author was a specialist on the Eastern Indians of North America, but this is a good reference for Plains techniques, specifically feather use, and symbolism.
  787.  
  788. Find this resource:
  789.  
  790. Hide Work
  791. With the prevalence of the buffalo on the Plains, hides naturally became an important artistic medium. Horse Capture, et al. 1993 presents robes made of hide that are held in European collections. Taylor 1998 discusses the 19th-century adaptation of new materials and processes to the traditional medium of the hide. However, the main thread of investigation is the ecological balance between Natives of the Plains and the deer and buffalo that sustained them and provided them materials for artistry. Morrow 1975 and Torrence 1994 discuss the decoration of parfleches (rigid, envelope-like containers) that are made out of hide. Gorman 2014 shows how these designs influenced the late-20th-century designer Malcolm McLaren.
  792.  
  793. Gorman, Paul. “Malcolm McLaren Exhibition: The Roots of Savages + His Copy of Mable Morrow’s Folk Art Book Indian Rawhide.” 30 July 2014.
  794.  
  795. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  796.  
  797. This blog post contains a few photographs of the work of the designer Malcolm McLaren, who was influenced by Native designs on parfleches (see Morrow 1975). McLaren repurposed Native designs in the context of fashions inspired by popular music in the early 1980s.
  798.  
  799. Find this resource:
  800.  
  801. Horse Capture, George P., Anne Vitart, and W. Richard West, eds; photographs of the hides by Daniel Ponsard. Robes of Splendor: Native American Painted Buffalo Hides. New York: New Press, 1993.
  802.  
  803. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  804.  
  805. Robes from the collection of the Musee de l’Homme, Paris, that were collected in the late 18th century. The book includes robes that are not known to North American audiences, as they were collected at such an early date.
  806.  
  807. Find this resource:
  808.  
  809. Morrow, Mable. Indian Rawhide: An American Folk Art. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1975.
  810.  
  811. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  812.  
  813. Mostly deals with parfleche decoration but also includes discussion of Cheyenne women’s craft and sewing societies. The parfleches’ designs are graphically bold in their conception and execution. An interesting discussion of the influence of this book on the contemporary fashion designer Malcolm McLaren, is available online.
  814.  
  815. Find this resource:
  816.  
  817. Taylor, Colin F. Buckskin and Buffalo: The Artistry of the Plains Indians. New York: Rizzoli, 1998.
  818.  
  819. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  820.  
  821. The focus of this book is works on hide (especially buffalo and deer, but also elk, antelope, and bighorn sheep). The objects are well illustrated and discussed in detail relative to the materials used and the tribe that produced them.
  822.  
  823. Find this resource:
  824.  
  825. Torrence, Gaylord. The American Indian Parfleche: A Tradition of Abstract Painting. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
  826.  
  827. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  828.  
  829. A study of the parfleche as an abstract artform by the senior curator of American Indian Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum. Torrence discusses the origin and diffusion of the parfleche and its integration into the Plains nomadic lifestyle. Detailed analysis based upon the study of more than 1,500 examples of parfleches.
  830.  
  831. Find this resource:
  832.  
  833. Jewelry
  834. Personal adornment is a key aspect of Native cultures. These books about jewelry reveal the deep historical roots and contemporary vitality of this tradition. Dubin 1999 is a visually exciting, beautifully photographed, and well-written encyclopedic treatment of the general topic, while Schiffer 2009 focuses on contemporary jewelers. This book contains excellent photography of the work, so it is a visually stimulating treatment of a vital contemporary art form.
  835.  
  836. Dubin, Lois Sherr. North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment: From Prehistory to the Present. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999.
  837.  
  838. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  839.  
  840. Based on interviews with elders and artists and ten years of research, this is a rich discussion of Native jewelry. “Adornment” is an important aspect of Native visual cultures, so the book considers many central aspects of Native life.
  841.  
  842. Find this resource:
  843.  
  844. Schiffer, Nancy N. Masters of Contemporary Indian Jewelry. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2009.
  845.  
  846. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  847.  
  848. This book profiles contemporary Native masters of jewelry as well as the modern techniques that they employ. It is organized around interviews with and profiles of the artists. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne and a former US senator from Colorado, is included among the artists profiled.
  849.  
  850. Find this resource:
  851.  
  852. Painting
  853. Painting is a relatively new artistic medium on the Plains, but it has deep origins in Winter Counts and Rock Art. Ewers 1979, Rodee 1965, and Spier 1925 discuss these ties to earlier media. In addition, Spier seeks to explain small distinctions and similarities of design between the artistic traditions of tribes residing in the same region. The book’s analysis is based on a larger sample than those of earlier researchers. Spier focuses on design elements that cut across the traditions of multiple tribes, such as central stripes and hourglass shapes. Alexander 1938 is an early source that includes discussion of pigments and techniques as well as a general introduction to painting in Plains culture. Dunn 1968 culminates a noted teacher’s lifetime of interest in Native painting motifs.
  854.  
  855. Alexander, Hartley Burr. Sioux Indian Painting. Nice, France: C. Szwedzicki, 1938.
  856.  
  857. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  858.  
  859. A digital scan of the text of this rare early work on Plains painting is available online. The book includes paintings by Amos Bad Heart Buffalo and Silver Horn.
  860.  
  861. Find this resource:
  862.  
  863. Dunn, Dorothy. American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 1968.
  864.  
  865. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  866.  
  867. A book by the well-known instructor of Native art that traces the development of motifs, techniques, and material used in Southwest and Plains Indian painting.
  868.  
  869. Find this resource:
  870.  
  871. Ewers, John C. Plains Indian Painting: A Description of an Aboriginal American Art. New York: AMS, 1979.
  872.  
  873. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  874.  
  875. Originally published Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1939. An analysis of the techniques, subjects, and patterns of Plains hide painting.
  876.  
  877. Find this resource:
  878.  
  879. Rodee, Howard D. “The Stylistic Development of Plains Indian Painting and Its Relationship to Ledger Drawings.” Plains Anthropologist (1965): 218–232.
  880.  
  881. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  882.  
  883. The artist analyzes the relationship of ledger drawings to hide painting in order to understand its stylistic evolution. He envisions continuity from pictographs to early hide paintings, both of which used a kind of visual shorthand, and distinguishes the stylistic features of early and late paintings on hide. He also discusses the relationship of this long tradition to ledger drawings, which became common in the last half of the 19th century.
  884.  
  885. Find this resource:
  886.  
  887. Spier, Leslie. “An Analysis of Plains Indian Parfleche Decoration.” University of Washington Publications in Anthropology 1 (1925): 89–112.
  888.  
  889. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  890.  
  891. This classic article follows from Lowie’s research into the art of the Shoshone and the Crow. Useful as a historiographic record of comparative analysis based upon design. Not illustrated.
  892.  
  893. Find this resource:
  894.  
  895. Pottery
  896. Pottery was less developed on the Plains than in other Native regions of North America. Even so, Wood 1962 discusses the historical connection of pottery decor to skin and robe painting. This article is useful for understanding issues of origin and influence in Plains art.
  897.  
  898. Wood, W. Raymond. “A Stylistic and Historical Analysis of Shoulder Patterns on Plains Indian Pottery.” American Antiquity (1962): 25–40.
  899.  
  900. DOI: 10.2307/278075Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  901.  
  902. Wood focuses on patterns of pottery ornamentation that relate to relatively large linguistic groupings within the Plains. By doing this he shows that the “Alternating Triangle” pattern demonstrates a relationship between the members of the Eastern Plains and Mississippian cultures farther east. He notes that the stylistic elements of Plains pottery predate European influence, as pottery making died out soon after the introduction of metal vessels.
  903.  
  904. Find this resource:
  905.  
  906. Quill Work
  907. Quillwork is an art form that had begun to die out but that is being revived in the present. Halvorson 1998 presents techniques and contemporary examples.
  908.  
  909. Halvorson, Mark J. Sacred Beauty: Quillwork of Plains Women. Photographs by Todd Strand. Bismarck, ND: State Historical Society of North Dakota, North Dakota Heritage Center, 1998.
  910.  
  911. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  912.  
  913. This book accompanied an exhibition of works from the State Historical Society of North Dakota. It describes the process of quillwork and presents contemporary examples in the medium.
  914.  
  915. Find this resource:
  916.  
  917. Quilting
  918. Quilting is less associated with the Plains, but it is an important art form there. Macdowell and Dewhurst 1997 includes many articles by Native contributors, who emphasize that quilting is a living art form with specific functions in Native societies. Pulford 1996 traces the use of one specific pattern, the Morning Star, in its examination of Plains quilters.
  919.  
  920. Macdowell, Marsha, and C. Kurt Dewhurst, eds. To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1997.
  921.  
  922. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  923.  
  924. Written to accompany a touring exhibition of quilts from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, the volume includes images of 180 quilts. This is an important contribution to the literature, considering that scholarly emphasis is usually on arts that predate extensive European influence.
  925.  
  926. Find this resource:
  927.  
  928. Pulford, Florence. Morning Star Quilts: A Presentation of the Work and Lives of Northern Plains Indian Women. Mineola, NY: Dover, 1996.
  929.  
  930. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  931.  
  932. Information on quilters working within the Morning Star tradition and many photographs of the colorfully designed quilts.
  933.  
  934. Find this resource:
  935.  
  936. Rock Art
  937. Rock art is an ancient expression. Several recent books have expanded the scholarship on rock art significantly. Francis and Loendorf 2002 explores the belief systems that are a key to the symbols’ meanings, which the authors researched through interviews with members of tribes in the region. James Keyser (Keyser 1987, Keyser and Klassen 2001, Keyser 2004) is a recognized expert on rock art in the Northern Plains; he has written several articles and books on the subject. Keyser 2004 explains how rock art is related to specific knowledge of the land and may have been tied to the experience of the vision quest. Plains Indian Rock Art, written with Michael Klassen, is a general overview of the subject that is both archaeological and aesthetic in approach. The focus is rock art of the Northwestern Plains including both petroglyphs and pictographs. Parsons 1987 uses comparative analysis to help interpret rock art symbols, while Loendorf 2008 emphasizes the relationship of rock art to aspects of the archaeological record as a way to gain a full understanding of its importance and meaning.
  938.  
  939. Francis, Julie E., and Lawrence L. Loendorf. Ancient Visions: Petroglyphs and Pictographs from the Wind River and Bighorn Country, Wyoming and Montana. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2002.
  940.  
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  942.  
  943. Analyzes many of the designs found in the region of the Bighorn and Wind River mountain ranges. The authors integrate indigenous knowledge with the archaeological record to form a complete history of the symbols.
  944.  
  945. Find this resource:
  946.  
  947. Keyser, James D. “A Lexicon for Historic Plains Indian Rock Art: Increasing Interpretive Potential.” Plains Anthropologist (1987): 43–71.
  948.  
  949. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  950.  
  951. Considers the relationship between ledger drawings and rock art during the historic period. The focus is on the interpretive advantages of comparative analysis of the two art forms. Primary focus is on the ceremonial style, which depicts figures in a variety of “action scenes.”
  952.  
  953. Find this resource:
  954.  
  955. Keyser, James D. Art of the Warriors: Rock Art of the American Plains. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2004.
  956.  
  957. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  958.  
  959. This offering is appropriate for both general readers and specialists. Keyser analyzes the variety of subjects in the art and relates these to the worldviews of the people who created the drawings over a span of thousands of years. Visually, this is an improvement on earlier books on the topic with its many color illustrations. Maps detail the locations of the rock art discussed in the text.
  960.  
  961. Find this resource:
  962.  
  963. Keyser, James D., and Michael Klassen. Plains Indian Rock Art. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2001.
  964.  
  965. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  966.  
  967. Includes discussion of dating methods and interpretive approaches as well as definitions of analytical terms in the field. Places rock art in the cultural context of tribes of the Northwestern Plains. The largest section of the book describes features of identifiable traditions such as the Columbia Plateau tradition and Foothills Abstract tradition. Clear, jargon-free writing that expresses appreciation for the art, drawn from a lifetime of study by both authors. Illustrated with both photographs and line drawings.
  968.  
  969. Find this resource:
  970.  
  971. Loendorf, Lawrence. Thunder and Herds: Rock Art of the High Plains. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2008.
  972.  
  973. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  974.  
  975. The book draws the reader into the problem-solving thought process of archaeology and the importance of scientific methodology in helping us to understand archaic art. The geographical focus of the study is Colorado and New Mexico. Loendorf’s approach is detailed but informal and suitable as an introduction to this field.
  976.  
  977. Find this resource:
  978.  
  979. Parsons, Mark L. “Plains Indian Portable Art as a Key to Two Texas Historic Rock Art Sites.” Plains Anthropologist (1987): 257–274.
  980.  
  981. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  982.  
  983. Considers issues of interpretation of rock art; uses imagery on “portable art” (robes, hides, tipis, shields, etc.) as a way to understand the meaning of historic rock art. The author compares his research to others using similar methodology. He also notes a general consistency of stylistic approach between the northern and southern Plains regions.
  984.  
  985. Find this resource:
  986.  
  987. Sculpture
  988. Sculpture is considered here by one of the key scholars of Plains Indian art. Ewers received his master’s degree from Yale in 1934 with a focus on the study of Plains Indians. This book (Ewers 1986) resulted from twenty years of research at 150 museums and is an important contribution, given that Plains sculpture is often overlooked as an artistic medium.
  989.  
  990. Ewers, John C. Plains Indian Sculpture: A Traditional Art from America’s Heartland. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1986.
  991.  
  992. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  993.  
  994. An introduction to Plains sculpture by the noted Smithsonian historian who published on Plains culture from 1935 to his death in 1997. While used copies are affordable, new copies of the book are quite expensive.
  995.  
  996. Find this resource:
  997.  
  998. Tipis
  999. Ewers 1978 focuses on their embellishment, while the authors included in Rosoff and Zeller 2011 consider the full place of the tipi in family life. Several Native scholars and artists were interviewed for or contributed to the book. They note that the construction and furnishing of tipis was largely the activity of women.
  1000.  
  1001. Ewers, John C. Murals in the Round: Painted Tipis of the Kiowa and Kiowa-Apache Indians. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978.
  1002.  
  1003. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1004.  
  1005. A book tied to an exhibition of tipi models made for James Mooney of the Smithsonian Institution during his field studies of Indian history and art in southwestern Oklahoma, 1891–1904.
  1006.  
  1007. Find this resource:
  1008.  
  1009. Rosoff, Nancy B., and Susan Kennedy Zeller, eds. Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains. Brooklyn: Brooklyn Museum, 2011.
  1010.  
  1011. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1012.  
  1013. This book offers a historical understanding of tipis on the Great Plains and considers their varied use in distinct areas of that vast region. The editors are curators of art of the Americas at the Brooklyn Museum, and much of the historical material photographed for the book, as well as included in an exhibition of the same name, is from the museum’s collection.
  1014.  
  1015. Find this resource:
  1016.  
  1017. Winter Counts
  1018. Winter Counts were a way to record tribal histories on the Plains. The images present in Greene and Thornton 2007 constitute a history of the Lakota people that spans more than 200 years.
  1019.  
  1020. Greene, Candace S., and Russell Thornton. The Year the Stars Fell; Lakota Winter Counts at the Smithsonian. Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 2007.
  1021.  
  1022. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1023.  
  1024. This book examines fourteen Lakota Winter Counts that are in the collection of the Smithsonian. One of them, the Rosebud Winter Count, is examined in detail for the first time. The authors engage readers in clear contextual and visual analysis, and the book is visually appealing.
  1025.  
  1026. Find this resource:
  1027.  
  1028. Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Artists
  1029. There are a few books that focus on Native art in the context of modernism or in relationship to craft revival movements of the late 20th century. Anthes 2006 is an analysis of the turn toward modernism in Native art. The most well known Plains artists of this era are Oscar Howe, Lakota, and Dick West, Southern Cheyenne; they are both included here. Bolz 2012 is another general treatment of the topic that is related to a recent exhibition of Native modernism in Germany. By contrast, Coe 1986 emphasizes the flourishing of traditional forms and media into the late 20th century. Milton 1969 and Ray 1972 are early examples of attention to modernity in Native art. Rushing 1999 is by a scholar who has focused on Native art and its relationship to modernism throughout his career. It’s fitting that he assembled important essays about the topic of 20th-century expression right at the end of the century. This section includes studies of contemporary Plains artists in addition to those active in the 20th century. Klein, et al. 2006 emphasizes that art need not “look Indian” for Native artists to play an important role in contemporary art. Dubin 2010 focuses on traditionally informed art being created in the present. Similarly, McFadden 2002 emphasizes traditional media within flexible approaches.
  1030.  
  1031. Anthes, Bill. Native Moderns: American Indian Painting, 1940–1960. Durham NC: Duke University Press, 2006.
  1032.  
  1033. DOI: 10.1215/9780822388104Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1034.  
  1035. Anthes pays close attention to the interplay between Native artists and non-Native artists, critics, and collectors during the transitional moment of the mid-20th century. Clear writing in an area fraught with potential interpretive conflict, but rather lightly illustrated. However, the author breaks down the exclusivity often found in discussions of modernism, and the book is a valuable contribution to the field.
  1036.  
  1037. Find this resource:
  1038.  
  1039. Bolz, Peter. Native American Modernism: Art from North America: The Collection of the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin. Petersberg, Germany: Michael Imhof, 2012.
  1040.  
  1041. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1042.  
  1043. Catalogue of an exhibition that presented Native modernism to a German public traditionally enchanted with more historical Native art. Artists include Jerry Ingram, Choctaw, of the Southern Plains and Kevin Red Star, Crow.
  1044.  
  1045. Find this resource:
  1046.  
  1047. Coe, Ralph T. Lost and Found Traditions: Native American Art 1965–1985. New York: American Federation of Arts, 1986.
  1048.  
  1049. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1050.  
  1051. Catalogue of a large exhibition that included modern work in a wide variety of media. The Plains objects in the book are mostly Sioux and reveal the tendency toward hybrid forms in Sioux art and craft.
  1052.  
  1053. Find this resource:
  1054.  
  1055. Deats, Suzanne. Contemporary Native American Artists. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2012.
  1056.  
  1057. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1058.  
  1059. A presentation of sixteen Native American artists, working in a variety of media, who are active today.
  1060.  
  1061. Find this resource:
  1062.  
  1063. Dubin, Lois Sherr. Grand Procession: Contemporary Artistic Visions of American Indians: The Diker Collection at the Denver Art Museum. Denver: Denver Art Museum, 2010.
  1064.  
  1065. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1066.  
  1067. The work consists of doll figurines about two feet in height.
  1068.  
  1069. Find this resource:
  1070.  
  1071. Klein, Richard, Fergus M Bordewich, and Paul Chaat Smith. No Reservations: Native American History and Culture in Contemporary Art. Ridgefield, CT: Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 2006.
  1072.  
  1073. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1074.  
  1075. Considers the participation of Native artists in the contemporary art scene. The book includes the Mesquakie artist Duane Slick.
  1076.  
  1077. Find this resource:
  1078.  
  1079. McFadden, David Revere. Changing Hands: Art without Reservation 2, Contemporary Native North American Art from the West, Northwest & Pacific. New York: Museum of Arts and Design, 2002.
  1080.  
  1081. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1082.  
  1083. A production from a museum that was until recently the American Crafts Museum, the book features a large number of contemporary Native artists from the West. Beadwork is one of the featured crafts. However, various forms of “edgy” and postmodern art are also included. The focus is on the humanity of Native artists in the present.
  1084.  
  1085. Find this resource:
  1086.  
  1087. Milton, John R., ed. Poetry, Fiction, Art, Music, Religion by the American Indian. South Dakota Review 7.2. Vermillion: University of South Dakota, 1969.
  1088.  
  1089. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1090.  
  1091. Includes statements and works by artists Oscar Howe, Jose Rey Toledo, R. C. Gorman, Robert Penn, Fred Beaver, and Richard West.
  1092.  
  1093. Find this resource:
  1094.  
  1095. Ray, Dorothy Jean, ed. Contemporary Indian Artists: Montana, Wyoming, Idaho. Rapid City, SD: Tipi Shop, 1972.
  1096.  
  1097. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1098.  
  1099. An illustrated exhibition catalogue for an exhibition organized by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the US Department of the Interior. Works were selected by Myles Libhart and Ramon Gonyea.
  1100.  
  1101. Find this resource:
  1102.  
  1103. Rushing, Jackson, ed. Native American Art in the Twentieth Century: Makers, Meanings, Histories. London: Routledge, 1999.
  1104.  
  1105. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1106.  
  1107. A number of essays by artists, art historians, and critics about issues of politics, power, spirituality, myths, and history that informed and shaped modern Native artists in the 20th century.
  1108.  
  1109. Find this resource:
  1110.  
  1111. Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Artist Monographs
  1112. This section features studies of individual Plains artists who were important in 20th-century modern art and those who are active today. The books T. C. Cannon and Oscar Howe consider the careers and contributions of two of the most important modern artists on the Plains. Amiotte, et al. 2014 and Berlo 2006 show how Arthur Amiotte’s lively collages juxtapose aspects of historical and contemporary realities in Plains life.
  1113.  
  1114. Amiotte, Arthur, Louis S. Warren, and Janet Catherine Berlo. Transformation and Continuity in Lakota Culture: The Collages of Arthur Amiotte. Pierre: South Dakota State Historical Society Press, 2014.
  1115.  
  1116. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1117.  
  1118. Amiotte is an Oglala Lakota artist from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. His great-grandfather was the Native artist Standing Bear. Using historical sources combined with his own drawings, Amiotte evokes the reservation era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in his art. Warren contributes a brief biography of Standing Bear, and Berlo places Amiotte’s collages in art historical context.
  1119.  
  1120. Find this resource:
  1121.  
  1122. Berlo, Janet Catherine. Arthur Amiotte: Collages 1988–2006. Santa Fe, NM: Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, 2006.
  1123.  
  1124. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1125.  
  1126. Arthur Amiotte was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation and received advanced artistic training in South Dakota and at the University of Montana, Missoula. The body of collage work featured here represents a culture, but also arises out of Amiotte’s own family background and autobiographical reflections.
  1127.  
  1128. Find this resource:
  1129.  
  1130. Dockstader, Frederick, ed. Oscar Howe: A Retrospective Exhibition, Catalogue Raisonne. Tulsa, OK: Thomas Gilcrease Museum, 1982.
  1131.  
  1132. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1133.  
  1134. Catalogue of the important Sioux modernist’s complete works.
  1135.  
  1136. Find this resource:
  1137.  
  1138. Frederick, Joan. T. C. Cannon: He Stood in the Sun. Flagstaff, AZ: Northland, 1995.
  1139.  
  1140. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1141.  
  1142. Though he died young, T. C. Cannon (Kiowa) made an impression on audiences with his frequently ironic, pop-inspired paintings and graphics. This book offers an intimate portrayal of the artist and his motivations.
  1143.  
  1144. Find this resource:
  1145.  
  1146. Gibson, Daniel. Kevin Red Star. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2014.
  1147.  
  1148. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1149.  
  1150. Presents the artwork of the Crow artist Red Star. Considers his upbringing and motivations as an artist. Includes many examples of his paintings, which often represent aspects of Crow history.
  1151.  
  1152. Find this resource:
  1153.  
  1154. Morrison, George. Modern Spirit: The Art of George Morrison. With essays by W. Jackson Rushing III and Kristin Makholm. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2013.
  1155.  
  1156. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1157.  
  1158. Catalogue for an exhibition held at the Minnesota History Center. Morrison (Chippewa/Ojibwa) was prolific in several media, including painting, sculpture, and printmaking. His work does not specifically represent Native imagery or symbolism. Yet it is highly regarded as a distinct modernist vision that emerged from the western shores of Lake Superior, close to the edge of the northern Plains.
  1159.  
  1160. Find this resource:
  1161.  
  1162. Philosophy and Criticism
  1163. These sources are concerned with philosophical and critical issues that arise in Plains art. Canelson questions the role of museums in constructing notions of national identity and unity, while simultaneously downplaying the legacy of colonialism. Young Man 1990 questions the anthropological framing of the exhibition The Spirit Sings: Artistic Traditions of Canada’s First Peoples. “Spaces of Remembering and Forgetting” (Dickinson, et al. 2006) also involves sub-textual issues related to interpreting museum display strategies. Schmittou and Logan 2002 analyzes the incongruence of a people whose culture has been subject to displacement and even genocide adopting the flag as a primary decorative motif in their art.
  1164.  
  1165. Canelson, Rebecca. “Alternate Narratives at the Canadian Museum of Civilization: Incorporating Aborigines into Canada’s History.”
  1166.  
  1167. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1168.  
  1169. Short discussion of the controversy surrounding the 1987 exhibition The Spirit Sings: Artistic Traditions of Canada’s First Peoples and the impact the debate had upon the Canadian Museum of Civilization, which was opening at about the same time.
  1170.  
  1171. Find this resource:
  1172.  
  1173. Dickinson, Greg, Brian L. Ott, and Eric Aoki. “Spaces of Remembering and Forgetting: The Reverent Eye/I at the Plains Indian Museum.” Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies 3.1 (2006): 27–47.
  1174.  
  1175. DOI: 10.1080/14791420500505619Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1176.  
  1177. This article analyzes the rhetorical strategies of one prominent museum that contains a large collection of Native American art, especially art of the Plains peoples. The authors state that the museum encourages a reverential approach to the objects that is respectful but distant in nature; they feel this strategy absolves Anglo viewers of guilt associated with the conquest of the Plains. An earlier version of this essay was presented at the 2002 convention of the Western States Communication Association.
  1178.  
  1179. Find this resource:
  1180.  
  1181. Schmittou, Douglas A., and Michael H. Logan. “Fluidity of Meaning: Flag Imagery in Plains Indian Art.” American Indian Quarterly 26.4 (2002): 559–604.
  1182.  
  1183. DOI: 10.1353/aiq.2004.0009Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1184.  
  1185. The authors analyze the flag as a motif in Plains art. In particular, the Lakota have made frequent use of the American flag in their beadwork and other art. By contrast, the Crow and the Pawnee rarely make use of the flag. The authors are interested in comparing and contrasting Native peoples from an analytical framework informed by evolutionary theory. See Logan and Schmittou 1995, cited under Exhibition Catalogues: Individual Curatorship.
  1186.  
  1187. Find this resource:
  1188.  
  1189. Young Man, Alfred. “Book Review: The Spirit Sings: Artistic Traditions of Canada’s First Peoples.” American Indian Quarterly 14.1 (Winter 1990): 71–73.
  1190.  
  1191. DOI: 10.2307/1185021Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1192.  
  1193. The author questions the anthropological framing of this controversial exhibition, which he feels removes the objects from the realm of high art. A scan of a review of the curator’s perspective in organizing the exhibition suggests different motives than those ascribed by Young Man.
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