Melissa Erman
Dr. Coronado
English 328
10/31/16
Catlin’s Experiences
with the Natives
Catlin’s North
American Indian Portfolio is a wonderful collection of drawing’s (plates) from
numerous Indian Tribes, and their culture. Along with these paintings are notes
from George Catlin himself that explain his illustrations and his experiences
with the Native Americans in North America. George Catlin was born in
Pennsylvania in 1796 and passed away in 1872. He had a brief career of being a
lawyer. In his lifetime he produced two
collections of plates of American Indians while traveling and also wrote notes
to go along with the plates. He was interested in the American Indians because
he believed these people and their culture was going to be extinct and he wanted
to show people that they were not savages as many westerners thought. While his
plates are well known and are included in some anthologies; the notes that
Catlin published talk about the plates are not anthologized and few copies
exist. These notes, along with the plates would have been extremely beneficial
in the 1800’s. Catlin’s painting’s highlighted the American Indians in a
positive light, and showed that their culture was unique, and should also be
respected. His notes and plates also educate the reader on American Indian
culture. Perhaps his drawings changed some people’s minds about how they
thought about American Indians.
Catlin painted 25 plates of the Natives he came across. I
am mainly going to focus on plates 2, 3, 14, and 21 as I feel these show
important cultural aspects of the American Indians. Before Catlin delves into
his plates he gives a brief note on the American Indians. He says,
By
whatever means, at which time soever, or for what end, man and ferocious beasts
have been placed upon the almost boundless prairies; their origin have been
sealed in impenetrable mystery; and a truth rendered of tenfold interest at the
present time from the lamentable fact that both are rapidly traveling to
extinction before the destructible waves of civilization, which seem destined
soon roll over the promoted parts of the continent, entirely depopulated, and
of men, who falls by poisons and diseases (Catlin 5)
Which tells the reader
and the viewer that these great people and powerful beasts are beginning to die
out. Disease that was passed on from white men to Natives, such as the “smallpox epidemic of 1837–40”
(Martinez 401) took out a great deal of the population because they
were no accustomed to infectious diseases that never before existed in North
America until people began to immigrate to the U.S. Not only were American
Indians dying, but their culture was being wiped out as well. They were
constantly pushed farther back due to civilization moving westward. Because
white people thought they were savages, Indians were treated horribly and in
cases were even murdered if they did not convert to white society. Catlin does
refer to the Indians as “Indian” but he mainly refers to them as “man”. IT is
clear from his notes that Catlin was not prejudiced of American Indians; in
fact he thought they needed to be protected and he wanted to educate people on
who they truly were. The first plate done by Catlin depict a noble,
intelligent, and proud race. These portraits of the American Indians from
numerous tribes might have shown society that they were not stupid, dirty or
savages. They were just people who lived differently. While plate 1 shows
people what Indians looked like up close plate 2 shows what a buffalo looks
like while Catlin’s notes explain the importance of the buffalo to the American
Indians.
The second plate is a close up sketch of an American
Buffalo. Catlin describes the mighty creature in his notes and his description
looks accurate when compared to the drawing. Catlin says “the most useful in
contributing to man’s sustenance; live almost exclusively on it; converting the
skins of the animals, their horns, hooves, and bones to the construction of
dresses, shields and bows” (5). American Indians did not hunt the Buffalo for
sport. They depended on these animals for food, shelter, and clothing. Due to
over hunting from white men, Buffalo numbers dwindled which forced Indians to
travel farther and for longer to keep up with the herds. This constant
traveling put tribes in the path of other tribes which would start wars over
resources. Catlin’s notes go into great detail about how important the Buffalo
were to Indians, and the harm over hunting caused them. Without Buffalo Indians
would have starved. Catlin’s drawing and notes about Buffalo could educate
people back in the 1800’s how important Buffalo were, and perhaps try to change
how people hunted Buffalo, but even though Catlin published his work it still
did not make a big enough impact on society. Another animal that became
essential to American Indians was horses.
Catlin states in his notes that horses are a big part of
American Indian life. He says “next to the importance of the Buffalo, for the
use of man, is the horse-mounted upon their backs, his faithful and attached
friends and companions, in deadly war, and the excitement of the chase” (6).
Horses were used in daily life activities. They allowed Indians to travel much
more quickly, they were used in hunting trips, and they were useful during wars
with neighboring tribes. Indians drove their wild horse herds as they traveled
so they would always be accessible. Horses were native to North America, but
went extinct in Northern America due to over hunting from humans (Nies 15). It
was the Spanish Conquistadors that introduced the modern horse to North America
which then led to repopulation of horses. Instead of hunting horses, The
Natives used them in transportation. Wild horses need a lot of land to graze
and survive. The range of country “to which the wild horses has driven them
before the advance of their enemy msn, as with the Buffalo, is now confined to
a strip of prairie near the base of the Rocky Mountains” (7). Due to westward
expansion Indians were pushed off their land and forced closer to the Rocky
Mountains. Wild horses today are over populated and forced to live on land that
cannot withhold their numbers which leads to starvation and death. I can easily
see this happening to the horses the Natives kept due to the fact that they did
not have enough land. Neither horses nor Indians had enough land to flourish
due to white expansion. Catlin’s notes explain just how important horses and
Buffalo were to Indians and without them Indians would be in trouble. While
Buffalo were important for food, and horses were used for numerous activates,
Native’s still had to survive out in the harsh wilderness.
Plate number 14 shows Indians wearing snow shoes that
Catlin gave to them. Indians struggled to survive during winter as the elements
were not kind to them. The snow shoes given to one tribe from Catlin “enabled
them to move about in the dead of winter, gaining food for their families; and
at its first appearance, the joyous event by a dance accompanied with a song of
thanks to the Great Spirit who has sent it for their benefit and amusement”
(13). This passage shows, as well as the picture, that Indians are not savage.
They are a very grateful people, who love their families and just want to
survive and live just like any human. Catlin saw this in them, and he wanted to
portray them as the amazing people they are. His work is important because it
shows that not everyone hated the Native Americans.
Life
for Indians was hard. They had to survive the harsh elements, hunt dangerous
prey, survive illness that was brought on by white people, and deal with their
homeland being taken away from them. George Catlin was a rare and wonderful
person. HE spent years traveling, learning, and getting to know these different
tribes. He discovered that there were no savages, but human beings that loved
nature, their families, and did their best to live life to the fullest. Just
like other races, American Indians had religion, culture, and lived in unique
matters. They were by no means savages, in fact they were the complete
opposite. I think that scholars should look into Catlin’s work because it shows
a pretty accurate portrayal of American Indians. They are not racialized, but
rather drawn and written about as Catlin had observed them to be. His work is
not based on any other writer’s opinions as he experienced these events in
person. It’s a shame his work wasn’t more popular because it might have changed
some peoples perspectives on how they viewed Native Americans.
Works
Cited Page
Catlin,
George. “North American Indian Portfolio.” American
Journey’s Collection. London: Egyption Hall, 1844. Web.
Nies, Judith. Native American History : A Chronology of the Vast Achievements of
a Culture and Their Links to World Events / Judith Nies. First ed. 1996. 10-30. Print.
Rivaya-Martínez, Joaquín. "A Different Look At
Native American Depopulation: Comanche Raiding, Captive Taking, And Population
Decline." Ethnohistory 61.3 (2014): 391-418. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.
Link :http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/aj/id/17706
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