In 1990, George H.W. Bush declared November to be Native American Indian Heritage Month. (It was subsequently referred to as Native American Heritage Month and re-certified by additional presidential proclamations). This month-long observance grew out of American Indian Day, proclaimed in 1915 by the president of the American Indian Association, Rev. Sherman Coolidge, and adopted in various forms by several states in the following years.
The New-York Historical Society’s Museum collection includes a treasure trove of early portraits of Native Americans, notably those by
George Catlin (1796-1872):
Catlin Painting the Portrait of Mah-to-toh-pa (Mandan) in 1832, 1866-68. Purchased by the Society, 1872.23.179.
Seminolee (Woman, Infant, and Two Men with Background Figures), 1866-68. Purchased by the Society, 1872.23.69.
Charles-Balthazar-Julien Fevret de Saint-Memin (1770-1852):
Yellow Corn, a Mandan, 1806-07. Elizabeth DeMilt Fund, 1860.96.
Unidentified Male Delaware, possibly Montgomery Montour, 1806-07. Elizabeth DeMilt Fund, 1860.97.
Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny, Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771–1849), whose work can currently be seen on view at N-YHS in “Artist in Exile: The Visual Diary of Baroness Hyde de Neuville” through January 26, 2020:
Fair Indian Man of the Buffalo Tribe, Canisteo, New York, 1808. Purchase, 1953.219.
Seneca “Squah” and Papoose, Western New York, 1808. Purchase, 1953.209.
and David Cusick (ca.1785–1831), himself Tuscarora:
Iroquois Mythological Giant Hunter Holding Weapons, with a Deer and Bear under His Belt, c.1827. Gift of Lansing Thurber, X.519[dup].
Three Iroquois: Atotárho Protected by Black Snakes, Flanked by Deganawida(?) Offering Wampum and Hiawatha(?), c.1827. Gift of Lansing Thurber, X.520[dup].
