Sketch made on Indian Reservation c. 19th century

Walter Shirlaw made this pencil sketch, ‘Sketch made on Indian Reservation,’ in the late nineteenth century. This seemingly simple work opens a window onto a complex history of cultural contact, conflict, and representation. As Shirlaw was a Western artist, it's important to consider this sketch as part of the artistic and social norms of its time. The drawing emerges from a period of expansion, settlement, and the forced displacement of Indigenous peoples onto reservations. The social conditions of artistic production during this time were shaped by the dominant cultural narratives of colonialism and ideas about progress. To fully understand this sketch, historians turn to archival sources, government documents, and the voices of the Indigenous communities who lived through these experiences. It offers us an opportunity to think critically about how art both reflects and shapes social realities.