Sioux Scaffold Burial

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Sioux Scaffold Burial

Date

April 28, 1834

Dimensions

10 1/8 × 12 5/8 in. (25.7 × 32.1 cm)

Medium

Graphite on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.248

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

This is a preliminary sketch for the scene which appears as Tableau 11 in the atlas of aquatints. The view was taken on April 28, 1834 near Fort Pierre. The scaffold in the right foreground holds the remains of a warrior whose body had been brought home from a great distance. Another burial scaffold can be seen in the center background. Scaffold burial, on an erected platform or on the limbs of a tree, was a common practice among the Sioux and other Plains tribes. The corpse was wrapped tightly in a robe or blanket along with cherished personal possessions. The skeletal remains might later be buried in the earth. Maximilian observed many of these platform graves in villages and camps on the upper Missouri. He found this one unusual because of the vaulted, basket-like framework over the body, probably placed there as an additional protective device against scavenging animals.

References in Journal

April 28, 1834

Labels:

structure

Approximate Depicted Location:

Fort Pierre, South Dakota