Nínoch-Kiä́iu, Piegan Blackfeet Chief

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Nínoch-Kiä́iu, Piegan Blackfeet Chief

Date

August 9, 1833

Dimensions

12 5/8 × 10 in. (32.1 × 25.4 cm)

Medium

Watercolor on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.281

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

One of several Piegan chiefs encountered by Maximilian at Fort McKenzie, this man had recently changed his name from a Kétsepenn-Núka ("Spotted Elk") to Nínoch-Kiä́iu ("Chief of the Bears"). He took the new name to commemorate his success on a war expedition against the Salish, when forty-seven of the latter had been killed and their scalps taken. He was an arrogant, aggressive person and was not popular with either the Indians or the officials at the fort. Wrapped in a robe, he is very plainly dressed for this portrait because he was in mourning for his dead nephew, who had just been murdered near the fort by Blood Indians. Nínoch-Kiä́iu threatened indiscriminate retaliation and revenge, causing much concern over the possible beginning of a vendetta. Nínoch-Kiä́iu is pictured in the same attire and pose in Tableau 46 of the aquatint atlas.

References in Journal

August 9, 1833

Labels:

genre, portrait

Approximate Depicted Location:

Fort McKenzie, Montana