McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - KI-ON-TWOG-KY., from History of the Indian Tribes of North America - ca. 1836 - T-Shirt

This design reproduces a hand-colored lithographic portrait of Ki-On-Twog-Ky, a Seneca leader, as published in Thomas McKenney and James Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America around 1836.

Visual Elements & Composition

A vertical plate frames a bust-length portrait set against a warm cream ground, which fills nearly half the image. Brick red and olive brown carry the figure, with teal and mauve as quieter accents. The sitter wears a feathered headdress, silver gorget and neck ornaments, and silver armbands, while a red blanket drapes over his shoulders. A pipe tomahawk with trailing ribbons rests in the composition beside him. The printed legend reads KI-ON-TWOG-KY or CORN PLANT and A SENECA CHIEF, so the sitter's names are part of the image itself.

Meaning & Symbolism

The portrait belongs to a nineteenth-century project to record the likenesses and leadership of Indigenous nations. McKenney and Hall built their work from biographical sketches and lithographs drawn largely from original paintings by Charles Bird King, producing a lasting visual archive. The headdress, gorget, armbands, and pipe tomahawk are the regalia the artist chose to show, identifying the sitter's standing within his community. The print was made during a period of severe pressure on Native lands and societies, and its careful, dignified presentation of an individual face stands as a deliberate counterpoint to that upheaval.

Crafted for the Front of a Tee

The vertical format of the plate places the bust at chest height, where the portrait reads directly when someone wears the shirt. Up close, the feather detail, metalwork, and ribbons of the pipe tomahawk reward a longer look, while from across a room the cream field and the red blanket give the figure a clear outline. Wearing the design puts a nineteenth-century face into everyday view, which is the same purpose the original publication set for itself.