McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - QUA-TA-WA-PLA. A SHAWANOE CHIEF from History of the Indian Tribes of North - ca. 1837-1844 - T-Shirt

This design is a bust-length portrait of Qua-Ta-Wa-Pla, a Shawnee chief, rendered as a vignette on a cream sheet.

Visual Elements & Composition

The portrait sits centred on a rectangular field of cream, which dominates the image. The chief wears a crimson patterned turban and a blue, fur-trimmed blanket cloak, and a silver medallion hangs on a red ribbon at his chest. Slate blue and warm brown carry the cloak and the figure's features, while the colours stay muted and even across the sheet. Lettering along the lower edge reads QUA-TA-WA-PEA and A SHAWANDE CHIEF, giving the image its caption.

Meaning & Symbolism

The portrait comes from History of the Indian Tribes of North America, a series produced by Thomas McKenney, Superintendent of Indian Trade, and James Hall in the 1830s and 1840s. Its lithographs were drawn from original oil paintings, made so that these leaders would be recorded for later generations. The sitter was known historically as Captain Lewis. The turban, medallion and cloak signal his standing, and the formal, dignified pose reflects the era's ethnographic approach to documenting Native leaders as territorial removal advanced. The work is both a record of a Shawnee chief and a document of the colonial framework that shaped how that record was made.

Crafted for the Wearer

A portrait printed across the chest reads as a figure in motion. As the wearer walks, turns and gestures, the bust-length image shifts in view, so the chief is seen at a distance first and up close only when someone stops to look. The cream field frames the composition like the margin of the original sheet, placing the chief's face and medallion where the eye lands first.