Sioux Dog Feast

George Catlin, Sioux Dog Feast, 1832-1837, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.494
Copied George Catlin, Sioux Dog Feast, 1832-1837, oil on canvas, 24 x 29 in. (60.9 x 73.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.494
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Artwork Details

Title
Sioux Dog Feast
Artist
Date
1832-1837
Location
Dimensions
24 x 29 in. (60.9 x 73.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Indian — Dakota
  • Recreation — leisure — eating and drinking
  • Indian — Sioux
  • Ceremony — Indian — Dog Feast
  • Architecture Interior — domestic — teepee
  • Western
  • Figure group — male
Object Number
1985.66.494
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.66.494

Artwork Description

George Catlin participated in a Sioux Indian ceremony of friendship at which a meal of dog meat was the center of the event. He explained the significance of this meal in his journal: "This feast was unquestioningly given to us as the most undoubted evidence they could give of their friendship. Knowing the spirit in which it was given, we could not but treat it respectfully, and receive it as anything but a high and marked compliment. The dog feast is truly a religious ceremony. The Indian sees fit to sacrifice his faithful companion to bear testimony to the sacredness of his vows of friendship."