Warrior Artists

Historic Cheyenne and Kiowa Ledger Art Drawn by Making Medicine and Zotom

by Herman Viola

An artistic community unique in American history flourished in St. Augustine, Florida, between 1875 and 1878. Some 70 Plains Indians, imprisoned for their refusal to accept life on the reservations, produced an extraordinary body of work that chronicled their history, their lives, and their experience of exile from the freedom so central to their heritage. Called “ledger art” after the large lined books that in most cases were the first form of paper they used, these remarkable pencil and ink depictions are vivid evocations of a poignant chapter in American history.

A superbly annotated reproduction of one such ledger, originally presented to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the late 19th century WARRIOR ARTISTS is alive with color and movement and presents more than 50 eloquent drawings by two of the finest practitioners of this traditional narrative art.

Zotom’s rich and vivid drawings preserve the proud and tragic story of the American Indian people; for what happened to one group happened to all of us. But not all tribes were as fortunate to have and a warrior artist like Zotom, who recorded this compelling chapter of his tribe’s history with such detail, accuracy, and skill. His drawings are exceptional. In addition to making us feel outraged by the treatment of these human beings who were only fighting for their way of life, WARRIOR ARTISTS enables us to appreciate the ad dignity of the Indian people, and the genius of Zotom and his unique style.

125 pp ~ 57 color photos ~ 9 b/w photos — ©1998