McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - HOO-WAN-NE-KA, A WINNEBAGO CHIEF., from History of the Indian Tribes of North - ca. 1844 - T-Shirt

This is a hand-colored lithograph portrait of Hoo-Wan-Ne-Ka, a Winnebago chief, shown as a three-quarter bust against a plain field.

Visual Elements & Composition

A tall vertical plate frames the sitter, and cream dominates the background, giving the portrait a paper-like, archival quality. Warm tan skin tones sit at the centre of the image, set off by slate blue and brick red accents and a charcoal line for the feathers and hair. The chief's white and black feather rises from his hair, and a beaded necklace and silver arm bands mark his status. A silver medal with a profile portrait hangs on a ribbon, and a round blue pendant adds a second circular shape beside it. He holds a hafted tomahawk in his right hand. The printed caption reads "HOO-WAN-NE-KA, A WINNEBAGO CHIEF." with the publisher line "PUBLISHED BY DANIEL RICE & JAMES G. CLARK, PHILADELPHIA" beneath.

Meaning & Symbolism

Hoo-Wan-Ne-Ka was a leader of the Winnebago, known today as the Ho-Chunk nation. He travelled to Washington, D.C., to negotiate with federal authorities during the era of American expansion, and his likeness was made to record Native American leadership at a time of treaty-making and displacement. The medal, feathers and tomahawk are the conventional signs of rank and office in these portraits, and they present him as a sovereign representative rather than a subject. The print comes from the History of the Indian Tribes of North America, compiled by Thomas McKenney and James Hall, with portraits made by artists including Charles Bird King. McKenney, Superintendent of Indian Trade, commissioned the series to document Native identity at a time when many observers wrongly assumed these peoples were disappearing.

Wearing the Portrait

A portrait printed across a tee is seen up close and at a glance, so the chief's face and the medal at his chest sit where the eye lands first. The composition is built around a single upright figure, which suits the centre of a shirt and the way the design reads when worn.