Smithsonian American Art Museum
On-sáw-kie, The Sauk, in the Act of Praying
George Catlin, born Wilkes-Barre, PA 1796-died Jersey City, NJ 1872 · 1830
The Sauk, a member of the Potawatomi/Prairie Band, was probably painted by George Catlin at Fort Leavenworth (in today’s Kansas) in 1830. He described the Sauk as “in the act of praying; his prayer written in characters on a maple stick.” (Truettner, The Natural Man Observed, 1979)
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