Braves’ Dance, Ojibwa

George Catlin, Braves' Dance, Ojibwa, 1835-1837, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.452
Copied George Catlin, Braves' Dance, Ojibwa, 1835-1837, oil on canvas, 19 5827 12 in. (49.770.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.452
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Artwork Details

Title
Braves’ Dance, Ojibwa
Date
1835-1837
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
19 5827 12 in. (49.770.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group — male
  • Western
  • Ceremony — Indian
  • Indian — Ojibwa
  • Ceremony — dance — Brave’s Dance
Object Number
1985.66.452

Artwork Description

“At intervals they stop, and one of them steps into the ring, and vociferates as loud as possible, with the most significant gesticulations, the feats of bravery which he has performed during his life---he boasts of the scalps he has taken---of the enemies he has vanquished, and at the same time carries his body through all the motions and gestures, which have been used during these scenes when they were transacted. At the end of his boasting, all assent to the truth of his story, and give in their approbation by the guttural “waugh!” and the dance again commences. At the next interval, another makes his boasts, and another, and another, and so on.” George Catlin first sketched the dance at Fort Snelling (in today’s Minnesota) in 1835. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 51, 1841; reprint 1973)