Arikara Villages

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Arikara Villages

Date

June 12, 1833

Dimensions

10 7/16 × 16 13/16 in. (26.5 × 42.7 cm)

Medium

Watercolor on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.165

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

On the voyage upstream in June of 1833, the steamboat passed by two adjacent Arikara villages just above the Grand River: Hóhka-Wirátt and Nahokáhta. These villages had been abandoned the year before, partially because of a drought-induced crop failure and a related absence of buffalo in the area, and also because of heavy pressure from Sioux enemies. The former inhabitants had reportedly moved inland into the prairie. Although Maximilian said that Bodmer's sketch was done hastily, it nonetheless clearly shows the distinctive shape of the earth lodges and the protective palisade around the village, already partially fallen. These villages figured significantly in the history of the upper Missouri River. They were visited and remarked upon by explorers Lewis and Clark, and in 1823 they became the target of the first U.S. military expedition against the Plains Indians, a retaliatory measure for Arikara attacks on American traders. Another view of this scene was produced by artist George Catlin in 1832.

References in Journal

June 12, 1833

Labels:

structure , riverscape , Missouri River

Approximate Depicted Location:

Akirara Indian Village