McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - PEE-CHE-KIR, A CHIPPEWA CHIEF., from History of the Indian Tribes of North - ca. 1843 - T-Shirt

This design is a hand-colored lithograph portrait of Pee-Che-Kir, a Chippewa chief, shown in strict profile against a plain ground.

Visual Elements & Composition

The portrait is set vertically and framed as a printed plate, with a centered caption beneath the figure. The palette is warm and restrained: cream and off-white dominate the background, with black for the hair and linework, a touch of vermilion across the face paint, and slate blue on the armband. The sitter's black bowl-cut hair and red face paint anchor the image, while a clay pipe rests under his arm and a cloth is draped over his shoulders. The lettering in the caption carries the chief's name and the publisher's imprint.

Meaning & Symbolism

The objects around the figure are a record of rank and identity. The pipe and the draped cloth speak to ceremony and standing, and the armband marks the sitter as a leader. The portrait comes from History of the Indian Tribes of North America, written by Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall and published between 1836 and 1844. The series drew on original portraits held in the Indian Department in Washington, and it aimed to present Native leaders with dignity during a period when federal policy toward tribal nations was changing rapidly. The project is one of the most important nineteenth-century collections of Indigenous portraiture, and it remains a controversial touchstone in the study of early American history.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

A portrait like this is meant to be seen up close, and a tee brings it to the chest, where the profile and caption sit at eye level for anyone standing across from you. The vertical format of the plate suits the torso, and the cream ground reads as a clean field around the chief's head and shoulders. Wearing the design puts a nineteenth-century record of a Chippewa leader in everyday view, as the lithograph itself was intended to be studied.