Wa-Na-Ta, The Charger, Grand Chief of the Sioux

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About Wa-Na-Ta, The Charger, Grand Chief Of The Sioux

Hand-coloured lithograph. Very good condition though the sheet has been trimmed down from its original size The son of Shappa Indian Red Thunder, Wa-Na-Ta, also known as 'The Charger', was born on the Elm River in South Dakota and was a revered Sioux chief of the Yanktonai tribe, which hailed from a village on the St. Peter's River. Along with his father, he fought for the British in the War of 1812, in which he distinguished himself as a loyal and valiant warrior. Despite the defeat of the British, Wa-Na-Ta was awarded for his exceptional heroism in a reception at the English court with a promotion to captain in the British army. He later shifted his allegiance to the United States. In 1825, he signed the Treaty of Fort Pierre as well as the landmark Prairie du Chien treaty, which established peace and territorial boundaries between the Sioux, Chippewas, Sac and Foxes, and Ioways. The Sioux, one of the most formidable and largest tribes, which included a substantial aboriginal population, inhabited the North American Plains and Prairies. McKenney and Hall's 'Indian Tribes of North America' has long been renowned for its portraits of Native Americans, largely based on paintings by the artist Charles Bird King. After six years as Superintendent of Indian Trade, Thomas McKenney had become concerned for the survival of the Western tribes. He had observed unscrupulous individuals taking advantage of the Native Americans for profit, and his vocal warnings about their future prompted his appointment to the Office of Indian Affairs. When President Jackson dismissed him from his government post in 1830, McKenney was able to turn more of his attention to his publishing project. Within a few years, he was joined by James Hall, a lawyer who had written extensively about the west. McKenney and Hall saw their work as a way of preserving an accurate visual record of a rapidly disappearing culture (Gilreath).