James Otto Lewis, born Philadelphia, PA - SHOUNK-CHUNK the Black Wolf; A Winnebago Chief, from The Aboriginal Portfolio - 1835 - T-Shirt

This is a portrait of Shounk-Chunk, the Black Wolf, a Winnebago chief, painted in 1835 by James Otto Lewis.

Visual Elements & Composition

The image is a hand-colored lithograph on paper, and it is built around the single figure of the chief. Lewis presents him as a formal likeness, with the sitter's face and bearing the clear focus of the work. The restrained, documentary approach keeps attention on the man rather than on decoration.

Meaning & Symbolism

The portrait belongs to The Aboriginal Portfolio, Lewis's collection of Native American leaders drawn from frontier treaty grounds in the early nineteenth century. Shounk-Chunk was a prominent leader of the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) nation during the 1830s, when federal Indian removal policies were reshaping Great Lakes and Midwest communities. Images like this one served as both historical record and testament to the dignity and sovereignty of the leaders who met with the United States government during treaty councils.

Where the Portrait Meets the Tee

A portrait on a tee is seen up close and at full height, so the chief's likeness reads across the chest as a single, direct gaze. Wearing it puts a nineteenth-century record of Winnebago leadership in everyday view, with the Black Wolf's name and the 1835 date carried as part of the design.