McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - PA-SHE-PA-HAW. A SAUK CHIEF., from History of the Indian Tribes of North America - ca. 1837-1844 - T-Shirt

This hand-colored lithograph presents a formal bust portrait of Pa-she-pa-haw, a Sauk chief, rendered as a single figure set against a plain ground.

Visual Elements & Composition

The portrait fills a vertical rectangle, with the sitter shown from the shoulders up. Cream dominates the background and lets the figure stand out. Tan skin tones sit at the center of the image, framed by a dark headwrap above and a fur-trimmed blanket draped across the shoulders. Charcoal black and dark brown give the features and textiles their depth, while off-white fur softens the lower edge. The printed caption, PA-SHE-PA-HAW and A SAUK CHIEF, anchors the composition as a historical plate.

Meaning & Symbolism

The image records a Sauk leader at a time when Indigenous nations were negotiating their futures with an expanding United States. The headwrap and fur-trimmed blanket mark the sitter's status and identity, and the composition frames him with dignity rather than as a type. The plate comes from History of the Indian Tribes of North America, drawn from the work of Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall and based on portraits from the Bureau of Indian Affairs' gallery. The project aimed to create a visual archive of Native American figures in the 1830s and 1840s, before many traditional ways of life were changed by colonization and forced removal.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

A bust portrait suits a chest-level print. Pa-she-pa-haw's face and shoulders sit centrally on the shirt, so the image reads clearly when worn and when seen from across a room. The vertical format of the original plate follows the torso's natural shape, keeping the caption and the figure in view together.