Kiäsax, Piegan Blackfoot Man

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Kiäsax, Piegan Blackfoot Man

Date

June 19, 1833

Dimensions

12 3/16 × 9 1/2 in. (31 × 24.1 cm)

Medium

Watercolor and graphite on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.395

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

Kiäsax ("Bear on the Left") was married to a Hidatsa woman and was apparently living in one of their villages near Fort Clark. On June 19 he and Matsókuï, a young Blackfeet companion, joined Maximilian's party on the steamboat Assiniboine, intending to travel upstream to visit their relatives. Kiäsax's portrait was executed during the five-day journey to Fort Union. Uneasy about the numbers of unfriendly Indians encountered at that stop, Kiäsax changed his mind and returned to Fort Clark. His more impetuous friend remained behind, and was shot by a hostile Cree a few days later. Kiäsax wears a heavily fringed bighorn sheep skin shirt, and over this a blanket which Maximilian called Spanish. It is more likely Navajo, for the pattern of white, black, and indigo stripes is typical of an early Navajo style commonly called a First Phase chief blanket. The blanket and the metal cross around his neck are both evidence of trade between the Southwest and the Northern Plains. The beaded hairbow and the slender flute decorated with an eagle feather are more typical of the Upper Missouri tribes. Kiäsax's hair is smeared with clay and separated into tresses or plaits, including a long central braid bound in green cloth. Judging from its length, that braid may have incorporated an added switch of human or horse hair, a common Plains practice. This image of Kiäsax was incorporated into the crowds of figures in Tableau 43 of the aquatint rendition of the Piegan camp at Fort McKenzie.

References in Journal

June 21, 1833

Labels:

genre, portrait , Fort Union, North Dakota , Fort Clark, North Dakota

Approximate Depicted Location:

Between Fort Clark and Fort Union