Sketch made on Indian Reservation c. 1890

Walter Shirlaw made this small pencil sketch, titled "Sketch made on Indian Reservation," probably sometime in the late 19th century. It depicts a group of Indigenous people on horseback in the American West. The sketch raises questions about the relationship between art and power. Shirlaw was a white artist, trained in European academic traditions. What was his position to depict Indigenous people and their land? How might his representation reflect or reinforce dominant cultural narratives about Native Americans? The 'Indian reservation' of the title should be a giveaway to Shirlaw's assumptions. It suggests confinement and restriction, themes that were central to white American policy towards Native Americans. It’s worth thinking about the political and social context in which Shirlaw was working, including the ongoing displacement and marginalization of Indigenous peoples. To understand this sketch more fully, it would be helpful to research Shirlaw's biography and the history of U.S. government policy and the history of Native Americans at the time.