MS 39-d-2 Drawings by Tichkematse and others
odd: label: Local Numbers
content: NAA MS 39D-2
name: label: Creator
content: Tichkematse, 1857-1932
place: label: Place
content: North America
creator: label: Creator
content: Tichkematse, 1857-1932
culture: label: Culture
content: Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)
setName: label: See more items in
content: MS 39-d-2 Drawings by Tichkematse and others
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Tichkematse (also known as Squint Eyes and Quchkeimus) (1857-1932) was among the men held prisoner at Fort Marion in Saint Augustine, Florida, from 1875-1878. While imprisoned, he learned to speak English and to read and write. Upon release he attended school at the Hampton Institute in Virginia for about a year before coming to work at the Smithsonian, primarily preparing bird and mammal specimens. During his time at the Smithsonian, he also produced drawings illustrating his old life on the Plains. In 1880 he returned to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation in what is now Oklahoma, but he continued his affiliation with the Smithsonian, collecting bird and mammal specimens as well as craft items acquired from Cheyenne friends and relatives, which he shipped to the museum.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 13 Drawings (visual works) (graphite, crayon, watercolor, and ink; laminated)
unitdate: label: Date
content: undated
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.MS39D2
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Drawings (visual works)
label: Type
content: Works of art
label: Type
content: Ledger drawings
label: Type
content: Drawings
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Works of art
label: Genre/Form
content: Ledger drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The colletion consists of thirteen (13) drawings, primarily scenes of warfare. Most of the drawings were heavily water and mildew damaged; all have been laminated. Several drawings have been attributed to the Cheyenne artist Tichkematse on the basis of style, and two others are inscribed with names that have been identified as Cheyenne. Three are from an unknown Plains tribe. One drawings contains copies of scenes appearing in the Bloody Knife robe pictures in MS 2372. One drawing depicts two Fijian figures drawn in a Western style.

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.