George Catlin, born Wilkes-Barre, PA - Buffalo Hunt, on Snowshoes-no. 15 - unknown - T-Shirt

This design shows Indigenous hunters on snowshoes pursuing American bison across deep winter snow, drawn in the hand-coloured lithograph style of the 1840s and 1850s.

Visual Elements & Composition

The scene sits within a rectangular landscape vignette, the kind of framed print that reads as a window onto the frontier. Snow white dominates the picture, with pale sky blue above the hills and cream tones softening the edges. Dark brown defines the hunters, the bison and the conifers, while a muted rose wash appears on the bodies and the blood marks. In the foreground, a hunter on snowshoes spears a bison, and a second hunter wearing a feathered headdress moves alongside him. A fallen bison lies in the snow, and several more animals gather in the distance. The printed caption reads BUFFALO HUNT, ON SNOW SHOES.

Meaning & Symbolism

The snowshoes and the deep drifts show how the hunt depended on knowledge of the land, timing and coordinated effort. For the Plains peoples depicted here, the bison supplied food, clothing and shelter, so the hunt carried both survival and cultural weight. George Catlin, who travelled among the Indigenous nations of the American West, made this work as part of his Indian Gallery, recording lifeways he feared would soon be changed by westward expansion.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

A tee carries its artwork across the chest and moves with the wearer, so the winter scene shifts with every step. The snow-white ground and dark figures stay legible at a glance, and the caption sits close enough to read when someone stops to look. Wearing this piece puts Catlin's hunters in the same everyday frame as the rest of your wardrobe.