Ischohä Kakoschochatä Dance of the Mandan Indians, plate 25 from Volume 2 of 'Travels in the Interior of North America' 1843

This print, made by Karl Bodmer, presents the Ischohä Kakoschochatä Dance of the Mandan Indians. Bodmer, trained in the tradition of European printmaking, skillfully used engraving and aquatint to capture this scene. Consider the process: each line etched into the metal plate, each tone carefully applied. This wasn't just documentation; it was a translation of lived experience into a format that could be reproduced and consumed in Europe. The very act of printing—a mechanised form of image-making—speaks to the colonial context in which Bodmer was working. And what of the materials depicted? Feathers, skins, and ceremonial objects, each carrying its own cultural significance for the Mandan people. Bodmer's print reduces these to mere images, devoid of their original power and purpose. The printmaking medium thus becomes a tool of appropriation. By attending to the materials and making of this print, we confront uncomfortable questions about representation, cultural exchange, and the power dynamics inherent in the artistic process.