D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 2
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T
HE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF MON-
TANA'S nineteenth-century Plains
Indians was, with few exceptions, be-
queathed anonymously to posterity.
Stylistic signatures, however, frequently
convey the tribal affiliation of these art-
ists whose identities were not recorded.
A war-exploit robe in the collections of the
Montana Historical Society, which they attribute
to White Swan, an Apsáalooke (Crow), is uniquely
qualified to represent these artists of the past, since it is em-
bellished in a style that exemplifies artforms produced, re-
spectively, by Crow men and women.
The most prolific Crow warrior-artist of his generation,
White Swan was one of six Crow scouts detached to Lt. Col.
George A. Custer's regiment on June 21, 1876. White Swan
saw extensive combat in the Battle of the Little Bighorn,
where he was severely wounded, and often portrayed events
from that conflict in artworks that chronicle his military ca-
reer. This robe, however, was devoted primarily, if not exclu-
sively, to honors achieved in intertribal warfare.
A TRIBUTE TO ANONYMOUS
NINETEENTH-CENTURY
PLAINS INDIAN ARTISTS
OF MONTANA
The
White Swan
Robe
by DOUGLAS A. SCHMITTOU
The deformity to White Swan's right hand was
caused by one of three bullet wounds that he
suffered in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
ROBERT
RATH
