MS 39-b Making Medicine book of drawings
odd: label: Local Numbers
content: NAA MS 39B

OPPS NEG 55,047-55,068
name: label: Artist
content: Making Medicine, 1844?-1931
label: Annotator
content: Fox, George W., 1853-1886
label: Creator
content: Fort Marion artists
place: label: Place
content: Florida -- Fort Marion
label: Place
content: North America
creator: label: Artist
content: Making Medicine, 1844?-1931
label: Annotator
content: Fox, George W., 1853-1886
label: Creator
content: Fort Marion artists
culture: label: Culture
content: Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)
setName: label: See more items in
content: MS 39-b Making Medicine book of drawings
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Making Medicine, also known as O-kuh-ha-tuh or "Sun Dancer" and David Pendleton Oakerhater (1844?-1931) was a Cheyenne warrior who became one of the most prolific of the Native American artists at Fort Marion and first sergeant of the company of guards there. When the Fort Marion prisoners were released in the spring of 1878, Making Medicine went to New York to be educated in the Christian ministry. He took the name David Pendleton Oakerhater after the family that sponsored him (the family of Senator George Pendleton), was ordained an Episcopal deacon on 7 June 1881, and worked as a missionary among the Plains tribes for many years. In 1985, he was the first Native American Anglican to be designated by the Episcopal Church as a saint.
label: Biographical Note
content: George W. Fox (1853-1886) worked as a trader with John "Jack" S. Evans at Fort Sill, Indian Territory, and became an interpreter for Comanche. From 1875 to March 1877, Fox worked with Richard H. Pratt (1840-1924) and prisoners of war from the southern plains at Fort Marion in St., Florida.
label: Historical Note
content: Fort Marion, also known as Castillo de San Marco, is a stone fortress in St. Augustine, Florida. Between 1875 and 1878, seventy-two prisoners from the southern plains were incarcerated in the fort under supervision of Lt. Richard H. Pratt. The prisoners consisted of 27 Kiowas, 33 Cheyennes, 9 Comanches, 2 Arapahos, and a single Caddo. With the exception of one Cheyenne woman, all the prisoners were men. They had been accused of participating in the recent Red River War, earlier hostilities, or both. With the exception of the wife and daughter of one of the Comanche men, the prisoners families were not allowed to accompany them to Fort Marion.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Volume (disbound and laminated;  21 drawings on 22 leaves, graphite, colored pencil, and crayon, 11.25 x 8.5 inches)
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1875-1878
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: The book was given by George W. Fox to his cousin, Samuel M. Grice, and donated to the Bureau of American Ethnology by Grice's sister, Mrs. S. H. Burnside [Mary Margaret Grice Burnside] of Wichita Falls, Texas on 17 October 1923.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.MS39B
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Volumes
label: Type
content: Ledger drawings
label: Type
content: Works of art
label: Type
content: Drawings
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Drawing titles are taken from the inscriptions on the drawings.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Ledger drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Works of art
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of an artist's sketchbook, now disbound and laminated, including twenty-one (21) drawings by Making Medicine of scenes of hunting, life at Fort Marion, wagons, trains, and camp life. The drawings are lettered A-U, and individually captioned by George Fox. Inside the front cover the words "Drawn by" and "Cheyenne" are in handwriting of George Fox; the name "Making Medicine" was written by the artist himself. The collection also includes a note from Fox (undated) and letter of transmittal from the donor, Mrs. Burnside (October 1923).


Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: A similar book of drawings by Making Medicine containing some of the same scenes and dated July 1876 is in the collection of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City.