Scope and Contents

The collection consists of loose drawings on various types of paper, some double-sided, with scenes of warfare, hunting, and camp life. They were probably produced at different times during the period 1879-1880. Four are inscribed with the name Etahdleuh Doanmoe and the majority of the remainder with the name Tichkematse, plus other descriptive elements in the artists' hand. Two pencil drawings, which lack any identifying name, are in a Western style and may not be by either artist. In two instances, the figures in the drawing have been cut out and pasted to a new backing [08519400; 08601400].

Most of the images adhere to Plains conventions of close up views of encounters, but in three drawings, Etahdleuh used a more distant perspective to show a Kiowa village along the Washita River (08601800), a buffalo hunt (08601900), and a battle against US troops (08517900). Also unusual are two drawings by Tichkematse showing details of tipi life, including women cooking and children playing (08601500-08601600).

Arrangement

Drawings by Tichkematse and Etahdleuh were mixed under the combined designation MS 290844-290845.

Biographical / Historical

Tichkematse, or Squint Eyes (Quchkeimus), 1857-1932 was a member of the Southern Cheyenne. Together with other Southern Plains warriors he was held prisoner at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida from 1875-78, during which period he and others became well known as artists. While imprisoned, he learned to speak English and to read and write. Upon release he attended school at the Hampton Institute in Virginia for about a year before coming to work at the Smithsonian Institution. During his time at the Smithsonian (1879-1880) he was trained to prepare bird and mammal specimens for study and display, participating in field expeditions to Florida and the American Southwest. He also served as a gallery guide, a source on Plains gesture language, and acquired cultural materials for the collections from Cheyenne friends and relatives, as well as producing drawings. Upon his return to Oklahoma (then Indian Territory), he served as an Army scout at Fort Supply. For additional information, see Plains Indian Art from Fort Marion, by Karen Daniels Petersen (Oklahoma Press, Norman 1971). On his time as a scout, see "Artists in Blue: the Indian Scouts of Fort Reno and Fort Supply," by Candace S. Greene (American Indian Art Magazine, Winter 1992, pp.50-57).

Etahdleuh (1856-1888) was also known as Etahdleeuh, Etadeleuh, Etahdleuh Doanmoe, Boy, and Boy Hunting. He was imprisoned at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida from 1875-1878. After his release from Fort Marion, he attended the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia, arriving in April, 1878. In 1879, he traveled to the Indian Territory to recruit pupils to attend the Carlisle Institute in Pennsylvania, where he would study and work on and off from 1879 to 1887. He made two extended trips back to the reservation during this period. From February to May 1880, he worked at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. He was trained as a Presbyterian missionary and returned to the reservation in January 1888 to serve in this capacity. For further biographical information Etahdleuh see Karen Daniels Petersen, Plains Indian Art from Fort Marion, University of Oklahoma Press, 1971.

Edwin Porter Upham (1845-1918) was a museum assistant who worked with the Smithsonian Institution's archeology collections for forty years. Born in Massachusetts, he received a public education there before joining the army during the American Civil War. In 1878, he was hired as an assistant to Dr. Charles Rau, an archeologist at the Smithsonian. After Rau's death, Upham worked with Dr. Thomas Wilson, with whom he cowrote a book entitled Prehistoric Art; Or, The Origin of Art as Manifested in the Works of Prehistoric Man (1898). In 1906, Upham was appointed aid in the division of prehistoric archeology, a position he held until his death.

Related Materials

Other drawings by Tichkematse can be found in MS7500, MS39D2, and in Photo Lot R79-24. For other drawings by Etahdleuh, see MS39C and MS39D2. Two photographs of Tichkematse in Photo Lot 24 (00438200 and 00438300) are attributed to this accession.