CHOATE, John N. (1848-1902), photographer. Two cabinet cards of Spotted Tail and other Sioux at the Carlisle Indian School. Carlisle, PA, ca 1879-1880.

2 cabinet photographs on cardstock mounts, each with J.N. Choate's Carlisle, Pennsylvania backmark. Subjects include: A studio portrait of "Spotted Tail & Iron Wing," as identified on mount below image. -- A group portrait of the "No. 3 Sioux Rosebud Agcy," including "Black Crow/ Two Strike / White Thunder / Spotted Tail / Iron Wing," and two white male interpreters named "Charles Tackett" and "Louis Rubado," as identified in period hand on verso. -- Together, 2 cabinet photographs.

Provenance: Cowan's, American History, 20 June 2012, Lot 188.

John N. Choate (1848-1902) began a long photographic career at Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1879 when the famous Carlisle Indian Industrial School was founded. The school's superintendent, Richard Henry Pratt, commissioned Choate to take these "before and after" portraits to document the progress his school was making in "civilizing" the students. The photographs were distributed widely, to Native American reservations to recruit new students, and to United States officials and wealthy donors to encourage their support.

The Brule Lakota Head Chief Spotted Tail was a progressive leader who understood the potential benefits that an English education might have for the young people of his tribe. He was among the first Native American leaders to make the courageous decision to send his own children to the eastern United States to be educated for the new life they would have to face. Four of his sons headed the group, which included nephews and grandchildren of Spotted Tail, as well as the children of other Brule chiefs.

The Larry Ness Collection of Native American Photography

This lot is located in Cincinnati.