American History: Premier Auction

Lot of 3 boudoir cards of Indians in Oklahoma Territory, including members of the Iowa tribe. The first photograph shows five white settlers, armed with rifles, standing among a group of Indians, including two children. Wagons are visible in the background, with “The Boys With The Inbians [sic] Guthrie, I.T. Sep. 30-89.” Credited to W.A. Flower, and captioned on mount, “Scenes at Guthrie, Okla., at opening of new lands, Sept. 22^nd., 1891.” Flower operated the Capital City Gallery in Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory, ca 1893.

The second photograph features a group of Iowa Indians, possibly a family, standing before a tipi. The man at far right is blindfolded, and a pencil inscription on verso identifies him as “Blind Tohee Chief of the Iowa’s.” William Tohee (ca 1847-?), was Chief of the Iowa Indians, residing on the Iowa Reservation in present-day Oklahoma. In 1890, the United States government sent three commissioners to visit the Iowa and persuade them to cede title to the reservation, pursuant to an Executive Order of 1883. It was left to Chief Tohee to negotiate the terms of the settlement, and despite his portrayal as “incurably blind and helpless. . . [requiring] the constant care and attention of Maggie [his wife],” by the commissioners, Tohee and the government were locked in a lengthy legal battle. Compensation for the land was ultimately decided by the courts and granted to the 104 members of the Iowa tribe in 1929.

Third photograph with several Indians, three of whom appear on horseback, positioned in front of a long structure with a thatched roof. Inscription written in the negative is largely indecipherable, with the exception of “Houses.”