War Dance of the Saukies 1861 - 1869

George Catlin created "War Dance of the Saukies," painted without a specified date, at a time when the U.S. government's policy of Indian Removal was aggressively displacing Native American tribes. Catlin positioned himself as an ethnographer, documenting what he believed to be a vanishing way of life. The painting depicts a large circle of Sauk warriors engaged in a dance, their bodies painted red, set against a backdrop of their village. Consider this scene through the lens of performance. What narratives are being enacted and for whom? Catlin, like many artists of his era, was complicit in perpetuating romanticized, often stereotypical images of Native Americans, while ignoring the complex realities of their lives. Catlin's work reflects a desire to preserve, yet it also exoticizes. In his own words, he wished to "rescue from oblivion the looks and customs of the vanishing races of native men in America." As you consider this painting, reflect on the power dynamics inherent in such representation, and the complicated legacy of portraying cultures not one's own.