8 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. silver gelatin photograph on larger cardstock mount with D.F. Barry's blindstamp to print and mount, and applied paper label on mount verso with Barry's Superior, Wisconsin, imprint. Barry signs and inscribes the image on mount recto: "To Mrs. M. H. Jenell. From D. F. Barry." Also possibly in Barry's hand are ink inscriptions beneath image identifying the subject as "Uncle Sam" and "Hairy Chin." Verso pencil inscriptions further identify the subject as "Chief Long Dogs Brother. Sioux."

This somewhat haunting studio portrait features a Sioux man, identified as Hairy Chin, dressed in an Uncle Sam costume including striped pants, star-clad jacket, and top hat.

A parade held to celebrate the meeting of the Constitutional Convention at Bismark, North Dakota, on 4 July 1889, included several Sioux chiefs who were commanded by Major James McLaughlin. He dressed Hairy Chin as Uncle Sam and tasked him with leading the parade. Hairy Chin died two days later after returning to Standing Rock, and his untimely death was widely thought among the Sioux to have been caused by the "bad medicine" of dressing up in such a way.