Sitting Bull, Dakota Sioux, from the American Indian Chiefs series (N36) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

This card, from Allen & Ginter's American Indian Chiefs series, presents Sitting Bull with a direct gaze. It is an artifact of late 19th century commercial art, designed as a cigarette card. The composition divides the image into distinct zones. On one side, a portrait of Sitting Bull dominates, framed by decorative patterns and a feather. Opposite this is an array of cultural symbols including what seems to be a bearskin. The juxtaposition creates a visual dialogue between the individual and symbolic representations of culture. The rendering favors clarity, but the visual elements function semiotically. Sitting Bull’s gaze establishes a direct encounter, yet he is mediated by layers of cultural encoding. The card exists in the context of imperial expansion, where images often served to classify and contain. Here, Sitting Bull is both a person and a representation, caught in the act of being turned into a collectable commodity. The image’s structure is thus not just aesthetic, but embedded in power.