2021 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction / Lot 235
Describing this painting Edna Gundersen wrote, “Historians reason that the Crows survived as a tribe because they cooperated with the government during the Indian Wars of the late nineteenth century. A few wise men among them realized there was no use fighting the overwhelming tide of Anglo humanity. Along with some Shoshones, they were enlisted as scouts, thereby managing to keep small portions of their homeland without being moved about too much; the Crow reservation is still located in Montana. The Crow Indian in this painting displays a potpourri of war emblems, including a warrior narrative drawn across his old robe adorned with pony beads. The American flag painted on his face is Pletka’s indication he is a scout. The gear on his head includes a horned medicine bonnet. A war whistle is affixed to the crow on his robe.”
LITERATURE
Paul Pletka, Pletka, Northland Press, 1983, p. 60-61, illustrated