McKenney and Hall, 1836-1844 - WA-BAUN-SEE, A POTTAWATOMIE CHIEF, from History of the Indian Tribes of North - ca. 1838 - T-Shirt

This design reproduces a hand-coloured lithographic portrait of Wa-Baun-See, a Pottawatomie chief, shown as a dignified bust within an oval vignette.

Visual Elements & Composition

The dark figure dominates the centre of the plate. He wears a black military-style coat with gold epaulettes, a black hat with a white feather plume and gold band, and a yellow silk sash fastened with a circular medallion. Tan skin tones and a warm cream background frame him, and the oval crop keeps the focus on his face and shoulders. The plate carries its original lettering, including the chief's name and the line "A POTTAWATOMIE CHIEF."

Meaning & Symbolism

The gold trim, medallion and sash mark rank and formal authority, while the feather and the direct gaze present a leader as a sovereign individual rather than a curiosity. The portrait was published in Thomas McKenney and James Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America, a work produced in the Jacksonian era. McKenney, then Superintendent of Indian Affairs, led the project, and the original painted likenesses came from artists connected with government treaty negotiations. The image therefore records both a respected Pottawatomie statesman and the pressures of the period that shaped his community.

Why It Works on a Tee

A portrait bust is built to be seen head-on at close range, and a chest print places it exactly where a viewer's eye lands when they face the wearer. The oval vignette sits as a single, contained image, so the design reads as one clear portrait rather than a scattered pattern. Up close, the medallion, epaulettes and plume reveal the finer lithographic detail, and from across a room the chief's silhouette still stands out.