Cabinet photograph on cardstock mount of Big Head, Na-Su-Na-Tunka, Sans Arc Sioux. Uncredited, but originally taken by Alexander Gardner. Manuscript identification in lower margin, "Big Head." Verso with manuscript notation in an unknown hand, "Upper Yanktonais [sic]."

Provenance: Acquired from an October 2024 auction containing material identified to General David Sloane Stanley (1828-1902) (consignor notes). After graduating from West Point in 1852, Stanley was assigned to frontier duty. He was stationed at various forts in the Dakota Territory, Indian Territory, and Kansas, where he aided in quelling disturbances at the Kansas border in 1856. When the Civil War began, he was given command of a division in the Western Theater, participating in numerous battles over the next three years. He was wounded in the neck at the Battle of Franklin and later received the Medal of Honor for his actions (November 1864). Following the Civil War, Stanley was appointed colonel of the 22nd US Infantry, primarily serving in the Dakota Territory until 1874. He was the Commanding Officer at Fort Sully, Dakota Territory, from 1867-1873. Stanley also commanded the Yellowstone expedition of 1873, encouraging settlement in the area. It is possible that the photograph offered here was inscribed in Stanley's hand.