Native American Tribes and the Cultures of the American West

Explore the cultures, history, and art of Native American tribes west of the Mississippi through master artists, portraits, and regional groupings in the Art of the American West series.

Explore how early maps and river networks chart the American West, revealing native communities and routes like the Oregon Trail and the Santa Fe Trail.

Explore theories of the first arrivals to the Americas, from the Bering Strait to Pacific crossings and Viking evidence, and map Native American cultures across major regions.

Explore how early Spanish expeditions and artists first reached the American West along the Pacific coast, meeting the Kumeyaay and documenting native life and coastlines.

The corps of discovery, led by Lewis and Clark, navigates the Missouri River. They cross Lemmy Pass and reach the Columbia River, documenting mobile tribes and westward expansion.

Examine Alfred Jacob Miller's paintings of Native Americans, horses, and frontier life in the northwest, including Fort Laramie trade scenes, iconic scouts, and buffalo hunts.

Paul Kane's paintings document Native Americans of the Canadian West and the Oregon Country, from 1845 to 1848, capturing dances, tepees, clothing, horse introduction, and river trade portraits.

Explore Alfred Bish's landscapes and portraits from the 1859–1863 expeditions, highlighting bison hunts, native customs, and vast western skies shaping indigenous displacement.

Explore Edward Sheriff Curtis’s iconic photographs of Native Americans in the American West, including Apache and Cheyenne subjects, capturing portraits like warriors, scouts, and daily life with historically significant horses.

Frederic Remington's dynamic depictions of the American West capture buffalo hunts, native riders, and cavalry scenes, highlighting his keen knowledge of horses, uniforms, saddles, and landscape.

Explore western American themes through William Lee, the Sagebrush Rembrandt, and other Native American artists who depict daily chores, landscapes, and portraits from the American Southwest.

Explore the masterful portraits by Henry Cornelius Bally, depicting Native Americans from over 63 tribes with rich illumination, detail, and varied styles across the American West.

Explore Oscar Edmund’s Taos era paintings of late Native Americans in New Mexico and the American Southwest, featuring horses, landscapes, and scenes like the wagon train attack.

Explore the Northern Plains culture through the work of David Humphreys Miller, who created seventy-two portraits of Little Bighorn survivors and interviewed warriors about the Wounded Knee massacre.

Explore Horst C., Native American artist of the West, through Indian Trail and War Party, celebrating native portraits and his Santee home museum and Hall of Great Westerns induction.

Explore the course catalog for Native American tribes and the cultures of the American West, providing context on the subjects and regional traditions.