National Anthropological Archives

Guide to Tracing of a Cheyenne drawing, undated

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.MS409978
Creators:
Bourke, John Gregory, 1846-1896
Unknown
Dates:
undated
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Drawings (visual works)
colored pencil, crayon, and ink on tracing paper, laminated
15.25 x 11.25 inches
Repository:
Container:
409978

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection consists of a single leaf of thin, tracing paper laminated to a supporting board. The drawing shows a mounted warrior facing fire from a group of enemies represented only partially by their firearms. A pictorial name glyph is labeled "Gellow [sic] Nose," probably intended as Yellow Nose. Inscription on top left reads "McKenzie's fight with Cheyenne on hd Powder Riv."
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
John Gregory Bourke (1846-1896) was an Army captain and prolific writer. A graduate of West Point, Bourke spent most of his military career in the Northern Plains under Brigadier General George Crook. After serving in these campaigns from 1869-1888, Bourke was given some time off from his military duties to study Native people. He compiled ethnological accounts of the Apache and several other tribes in the Southwest.
Biographical Note
Yellow Nose, also known as Little Face, Hehuwesse, He-her-we, (1848-1910) was a Ute captured as a young boy by Dives Backward and raised within Northern Cheyenne society by his adopted father Spotted Wolf. He is recorded to have participated in the Battle of Rosebud (June 17th, 1876) and the Battle of Little Bighorn (June 25-26th, 1876) where he reportedly 1) lost a famous shield made by Whistling Elk (later acquired by the NMAI) 2) captured the guidon of the 7th Cavalry and 3) strangled Custer to death with his bare hands. After the Battle of Little Big Horn, Yellow Nose traveled with a group of Northern Cheyenne led by Little Wolf and Dull Knife eventually making camp along the Powder River. The group was attacked by General Ranald McKenzie in the Battle of Crazy Woman Fork (November 20th, 1876). During this battle Yellow Nose distracted the US soldiers, allowing the women and children to escape, and sustained a shot to the chest. Eventually, the group, including Yellow Nose, was captured and removed to the southern Cheyenne reservation in present-day Oklahoma, where Yellow Nose remained for the remainder of his life.

Administration

Processing Information
Media was changed from watercolor to crayon due to smudging and impressions in wax caused by lamination process.
Custodial History
This tracing was received September 9, 1968 from Mrs. A.B. Richardson, the daughter of the collector John Gregory Bourke. In exchange for the tracing, Mrs. Richardson received a drawing that had been donated to the USNM by her mother, Mary Bourke, widow of John Gregory Bourke, on April 28, 1897 (USNM Accession 31963; NAA MS 176622-f). The drawing had been removed from a book that Mrs. Bourke had placed at the Joslyn Art Museum.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Tracing of a Cheyenne drawing (MS 409978), National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use
Contact the repository for terms of use.

Related Materials
This is a tracing rather than an original drawing. Bourke assembled a substantial series of tracings and copies of Plains drawings. A number are now in the collection of the National Museum of the American Indian (23/4251-4599), and five are in the collection of the National Museum of American History (GA08109-8113). Scholars have matched several of these copies to works in different Cheyenne books of drawings, demonstrating that Bourke's materials are from various sources to which he had access over time. The NMAI records indicate that these copies were collected 1880-81; they originally attributed them to "Chief Yellow Nose," subsequently changed to "probably non-Indian."
Other, original Plains drawings collected by Bourke are held by the National Anthropological Archives in MS 176622, and several accessions from Bourke are cataloged in the Anthropology object collections (Acccession numbers 001136, 021242 and others).

More Information

Local Numbers

Local Numbers
NAA MS 409978
NAA INV 08602500


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Works of art Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ledger drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
North America Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Yellow Nose, 1848-1910 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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