Object Details
- Exhibition Label
- Birthplace unknown
- Southern Cheyenne chief Minimic guided his people through the relentless campaign of harassment and attrition that General Philip Sheridan (shown at left) waged against Southern Plains Indians during the brutal Red River War (1874–75). Ultimately compelled to surrender, Minimic and other leaders were imprisoned without trial at Fort Marion, Florida, while their communities were forced onto government reservations.
- While at Fort Marion (1875–78), Minimic maintained peaceful relations to ensure his fellow prisoners’ survival and release. He counseled compliance with an experimental assimilation program that demanded they cut their hair, wear military uniforms, learn English, and attend Christian church services. However, the men were also encouraged to revive their Native identities when tourists visited. Shortly before returning home to his family, Minimic posed in an assortment of “Indian” clothing for James Wells Champney, who visited Fort Marion while on assignment to document the Reconstruction-era South for Scribner’s magazine.
- Lugar de nacimiento desconocido
- Minimic, jefe cheyenne del sur, guio a su pueblo a lo largo de la implacable campaña de acoso y exterminio del general Philip Sheridan (a la izquierda) contra los indígenas de la planicies del sur durante la brutal Guerra del Río Rojo (1874–75). Cuando ya la rendición fue inevitable, Minimic y otros líderes fueron encarcelados sin juicio en el Fuerte Marion de Florida, mientras sus comunidades fueron ubicadas a la fuerza en reservaciones.
- En el Fuerte Marion (1875–78), Minimic fomentó relaciones pacíficas para asegurar la supervivencia y liberación de sus compañeros. Les aconsejó que cumplieran con un programa experimental de asimilación que les exigía cortarse el pelo, usar uniformes militares, aprender inglés y asistir a la misa católica. Por otra parte, se les exhortaba a destacar su identidad nativa cuando venían turistas. Poco antes de volver a su hogar, Minimic posó con una mezcla de ropas “indias” para James Wells Champney, quien visitó el Fuerte Marion encargado de documentar la Reconstrucción en el sur para la revista Scribner’s.
- Provenance
- Mrs. Richard Henry Pratt [Anna Laura Mason Pratt]; her daughter Mrs. Edgar M. Hawkins; Richard P. Hawkins, Hingham, Mass.; purchased 1994 NPG
- Data Source
- National Portrait Gallery
- Artist
- James Wells Champney, 1843 - 1903
- Sitter
- Minimic, ? - 1881
- Date
- c. 1878
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gallery purchase, in memory of Brigadier General Richard Henry Pratt and his Wife, Anna Laura Mason Pratt, Friends of Minimic
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 66 x 45.7cm (26 x 18")
- Frame: 74.6 x 54 x 6.4cm (29 3/8 x 21 1/4 x 2 1/2")
- Type
- Painting
