American Indian Cultural Regions – Object #8

Momaday Elk Hide Painting

Download Hide painting

<p>This painting is on an elk hide. At the top is an animal skull, with tipis on its left and right. The center is a large circle with a hand in the middle, and feathers in a circle around it. Two animals are on the left, what appears to be a wolf and the head of a bison on the right. The color palette is turquoise, brown, and a rust colored red.</p>

Contemporary native painting on an elk hide in the style of historic hide paintings

Questions:

What does this hide painting tell you about what was important in the artist’s culture?

What conclusions can you draw about the physical geography of this group based on the painting?

What questions do you have about this source?

Citations

Al Momaday, Elk Hide Painting, undated [20th century]. J.W. Wiggins Native American Art Collection. Sequoyah National Research Center, UA Little Rock.