McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - CA-TA-HE-CAS-SA-BLACK HOOF. PRINCIPAL CHIEF OF THE SHAWANOES., fromHistory of - ca. 1838 - T-Shirt

This hand-coloured lithograph gives a dignified, bust-length portrait of Ca-Ta-He-Cas-Sa, known as Black Hoof, Principal Chief of the Shawnee nation.

Visual Elements & Composition

A tall vertical portrait rectangle frames the sitter in a bust-length vignette. He wears a white turban-style headwrap and a dark coat, and his face is the clear focal point. The ground is a warm parchment cream that covers most of the print, with charcoal grey and dark brown giving depth to the coat and shadows, and warm tan and pale grey adding quiet accents. The lettering across the print reads CA-TA-HE-CAS-SA-BLACK HOOF and PRINCIPAL CHIEF OF THE SHAWANOES, with the publisher line F.W. Greenough, Philad.

Meaning & Symbolism

Black Hoof served as a principal chief of the Shawnee during a period of displacement, federal Indian policy and westward expansion. As a leader he worked through diplomacy and conflict to protect Shawnee sovereignty and land while the world around his people changed quickly. The print comes from Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America, which paired biographical sketches with portraits of prominent Native leaders. The portraits were largely copied from original paintings by Charles Bird King in his Washington, D.C. studio, where visiting Native delegations were recorded. The lithographs preserved these figures for posterity and also reflect the attitudes of their own nineteenth-century era.

Wearing the Portrait

A portrait this size is meant to be seen up close, as a face you read rather than a pattern you glance past. The shirt's front carries the full composition, so the chief's gaze and the formal lettering sit where you can study them. Wearing it puts a record of an influential Shawnee leader into everyday view, and the parchment tones and fine detail of the lithograph carry through to the wearer.