The American West and Native Americans in Paintings

Capturing the Grizzly was painted by Charles Marion Russell in 1901. Russell was known for his storytelling, both through his words and through his paintings, with this in mind, he often found himself sacrificing the accuracy of his paintings in favour of telling a better story. With this particular painting, we don’t know how historically accurate it is, but it can be seen as a romantic view of the American West.

It demonstrates the idea that man can tame the West, symbolised in the capturing of a large and dangerous wild animal. The action of capturing the bear indicates a strong sense of bravery on their part, this is emphasised by how the horses are clearly scared and attempting to flee (an instinctive response to the threat), but they follow the orders of their riders and stay reluctantly. The landscape is a strong backdrop to the barbaric treatment of the bear, it suggests there is a world out there that is drastically more significant than three men capturing a grizzly, yet they remain the focus, indicating that man sees himself at the forefront of any painting. 

The Holy Rattle (Elkwater Lake Battle, 1864) by Z.S. Liang was painted in 2015. The Battle of Elkwater Lake was between two Native American tribes, the Blackfoot and the Kootenay. It began by the Kootenay hunting buffalo on the Blackfoot territory without asking permission as they usually would have.

Without taking in the date of the painting into account, the first impression is that it was painted in order to portray the Native Americans as ‘uncivilised’ as their fighting appears to be chaotic and unorganised. This contrasts with how the settlers would have fought in organised groups. However when we take the date of the painting into account, in 2015 most people recognised the skill of the Native Americans and admired them for their strength, thus this painting suggests they were formidable opponents, even to each other. Their tribal wear suggests pride and loyalty, as well as a way to distinguish between allies and enemies.