Dacotah Written Music

Seth Eastman created this drawing, Dacotah Written Music, on paper sometime in the mid-19th century. It’s a meticulous transcription of an original birch bark document, preserving a form of indigenous knowledge. Consider the labor involved. Eastman, an artist and military officer, carefully copied these symbols, each line bearing witness to Dakota traditions. The original marks on birch bark would have been inscribed with tools made from bone, stone, or metal, each carrying its own weight of cultural significance. Eastman’s tools – pen, ink, paper – speak to a different set of cultural values, of documentation, and a colonial project. Eastman’s drawing offers insight into indigenous modes of communication and memory. Yet it also prompts reflection on the power dynamics inherent in its making; the act of translation itself, and the means of production it necessitated. Ultimately, it challenges us to consider whose stories are told, and how.