Pawnee Medicine Men

to deny In plate 308 are fac simile outlines from about one half of a group a Pawnee robe also hanging in the exhibition representing a procession doctors or medicine men when one of them the foremost one is giving dom to his favourite horse This is a very curious custom which I amongst many of the tribes and is done by his announcing to all of fraternity that on a certain day he is going to give liberty to his horse that has longest served him and he expects them all to be present the time and place appointed they all appear on horseback most painted and dressed as well as armed and equipped when the of the horse leads the procession and drives before him his horse which is curiously painted and branded which he holds in with a long laso When they have arrived at the proper spot on the the ceremony takes place of turning it loose and giving it it would as a sort of sacrifice to the Great Spirit This animal after this takes range amongst the bands of wild horses and if caught by the laso as often the case is discharged under the superstitious belief that it belongs the Great Spirit and not with impunity to be appropriated by them Besides this curious custom there are very many instances where these the avails of whose practice enable them to do it in order to the ignorant and superstitious minds of their people as well as perhaps quiet their own apprehensions sacrifice to the Great or Evil Spirit horses and dogs by killing them instead of turning them loose sacrifices are generally made immediately to their medicine bags or to family medicine which every family seems to have attached to their household in addition to that which appropriately belongs to individuals in making these sacrifices and all gifts to the Great Spirit there is thing yet to be told that whatever gift is made whether a horse a or other article it is sure to be the best of its kind that the giver otherwise he subjects himself to disgrace in his tribe and to the ill will of power he is endeavoring to conciliate.

Artist: George Catlin (1796-1872)
Print Type: Engraving
Signed: G. Catlin l/l in plate
Dated: Circa 1841
Origin: United States
Demensions: 6 1/4 x 10"
Subject: Native American Indians
Notes & Literature: George Catlin was the first artist to travel widely among the Plains Indians of North America and create an important body of paintings and graphics to illustrate their customs and artifacts. His purpose was both unselfish and romantic. He wanted, and labored unceasingly, to persuade his contemporaries that Native American culture should be honored and preserved. When Catlin first issued this portfolio in 1844, his animated, colorful, sympathetic views of Native Americans filled the void of imagery. Suddenly, Europeans and Americans were able to visualize the people and customs of whom they had read so extensively, and to gain a level of respect for the Native Americans, so often feared, misunderstood or misrepresented. The artist’s stunning lithographs ranged from portraits to depictions of tribal ceremonies, from the anecdotal to the idealized. Catlin appealed to his readers with the thrill of the hunt and the mystery of ritual, and conveyed his respect for his subjects masterfully. The immediacy of his images is irresistible, drawing viewers into the scenes and portraits with unprecedented intimacy. But even when Catlin issued the “North American Indian Portfolio,” just fifteen years after his expedition, his crusade to preserve America’s “Noble Savage” was failing. The Indians were beginning to give way to the expansion of the American frontier and to European disease. Because most of Catlin’s paintings and collections were destroyed by fire and neglect, his lithographs remain the principal medium by which his message was conveyed, and they have come to hold even greater significance today than when they were first published. Howes C255. Sabin 11536 & 11537.
Condition Report: Some light foxing. Very good
Subject References: Indian Tribes