Native American ink and wash sketch
This morning we have a little figurine, a Native American chief with his eagle staff and his peace pipe. The toy itself is labeled an Indian chief, but the accepted term today is Native American.
I will adhere to Native American because there are actually Indian people from India, and I think it is confusing to have to say, do you mean Native American Indians or do you mean India Indians? I would rather just simplify it with Native Americans. Our chief has a full headdress and his staff.
He is also holding a pipe. We always call it a peace pipe because in all the movies and stories, that is what they refer to it as. The story is that once the settlers and the natives had come to agreement, they would smoke the peace pipe. But it is not a peace pipe, it is a ceremonial pipe. The pipe is also called a Calumet. I grew up believing that they were smoking marijuana or something else in the pipe, especially in the modern movies. They actually smoked tobacco mixed with herbs like sage, sweet grass, or cedar in the Calumet. That mixture is called Kinnikinic. The smoke from the pipe was supposed to carry the prayers up to the gods, much like the incense in the modern church.
The style of the figurine is circa 1880s. He is wearing European style dress, but in Native American fashion, which is still the suede with the beads, toggles, and tassels attached to it. Everything they wear had significance and was very important to the chief and the tribe. For instance, every feather in the headdress was supposed to have been awarded for a feat of bravery or wisdom. He is wearing the headdress of a man who is very brave and wise because it has many, many feathers. The leadership assigned meaning to the beads he wears around his neck and the eagle feathers on the staff.
The problem with the whole ordeal is that in the 1880s, the Native American chief trope had developed. People like P.T. Barnum would hire people and say, “this is a Native American chief,” and he would be an outrageous stereotype. People would pay for it and they would do things like have gun shows and ride around on horseback to demonstrate their supposed prowess. What they did and talked about was not really Native American. The side shows would take the traditions of many different Native American cultures and combine them into one single trope, more of a cartoon. It is difficult to distinguish between what they said during those shows and what was true to the Native American peoples. One example is that Native Americans did not have horses until the Europeans introduced them in the 1600s.
Today, there are many tribal shops where you can purchase authentic items and crafts from Native American peoples. However, there are strict policies being installed to prevent sacred items from being sold. The Native American people are trying to protect their sacred items and religious paraphernalia and not have them exploited for profit.
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Also, if you, or a teacher friend, would like a 20-30 minute lesson plan about Native American Chiefs, feel free to download and share this one:
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