Snow Shoe Dance - Ojibbeway 1861 - 1869

George Catlin created this painting, "Snow Shoe Dance - Ojibbeway," during a period of intense interest in documenting Native American life. Catlin was an artist who traveled extensively in the American West during the 1830s, at a time when the US government was actively displacing Native American tribes. In this work we see figures participating in what seems to be a ritual dance. Catlin's images, while seemingly documentary, were often shaped by the cultural biases of his time. He saw Native Americans as a vanishing race, and his paintings reinforced this idea, feeding into the popular imagination and justifying government policies. To understand this work better, we need to look at it in the context of 19th-century American expansionism and the romanticized image of the "noble savage." Historical documents, such as government reports and missionary accounts, can help us to understand the complex relationship between art, politics, and cultural identity in this period. Ultimately, the meaning of this work shifts as our understanding of its historical context evolves.