Rain-in-the-Face 'Iromagaja'. The first photograph of Rain-in-the-Face, taken shortly before his arrest and incarceration at Fort Lincoln in 1874. He was one of the leaders during the Fetterman disaster of 1866, the worst defeat the U.S. Army had suffered on the frontier up to that time. His prowess as a warrior continued throughout the Sioux Wars. Wounded and lamed during the fight, he led his band against Custer, and later followed Sitting Bull into exile in Canada. Rain-in-the-Face and his followers surrendered to General Miles at Fort Keogh, Montana, in September of 1880. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Chief Joseph 'Hanmaton Talatkit' (ca. 1832-1904). By the close of 1876 the Sioux had been pacified enough that Manifest Destiny could focus her attention and Gatling guns on the Nez Perce of Oregon and Washington where gold had been discovered. Although he had always advocated coexistence with the white man, Chief Joseph was forced from his native home into a three-month, 1300 mile flight through what are today four states and twice across the Rocky Mountains, defeating the U.S. Army in seven major battles. He came within forty miles of sanctuary, the Canadian border, where he envisioned joining Sitting Bull and his exiled people, when his sick and starving band was overtaken by General Miles and one-armed General O.O. Howard. Joseph surrendered October 5, 1877. General Miles agreed to return the Nez Perce to the west; instead, they were sent to Indian Territory. Joseph was so successful a military leader and so influential a tribal leader that he was never allowed to return to his homeland and people. It was said that upon Joseph's exiled death in September of 1904, the agency doctor identified the cause of death as 'broken heart'. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
The first photo of the famed Hunkpapa war chief, taken at Fort Buford, D.T. shortly after his surrender to major Guido Ilges, Fifth Infantry, following a short fight near the Poplar Camp Post, January 2, 1881. Four years earlier, in the valley of Little Bighorn, it was Gall, Sitting Bull's lieutenant and war chief, who rallied to meet Reno's initial charge and quickly turned it into a devastating retreat. Gall later crossed the Little Bighorn River and led the Sioux to triumph over Custer's contingent of the Seventh Cavalry. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Low Dog 'Xunka Kuciyedon' (b.1846) This respected warrior became a war chief at age 14. In January of 1876, Low Dog and his band joined a party of Northern Cheyenne at the Red Cloud Agency and planned to hunt in the Powder River County. In March of that year, Low Dog's people set up camp with a large non-agency band of Northern Cheyenne and a few Oglala Sioux near the union of the Little Powder and Powder River. On Saint Patrick's day this sleeping village was attacked and destroyed by Colonel J.J. Reynolds. During the night of March 17th the Indians managed to recapture their horses. Without provisions the mixed band traveled northward to join Crazy Horse and later Sitting Bull on the Little Bighorn, where Low Dog led his people against Custer and the 7th Cavalry. Low Dog's account of the battle was published many times. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Crow King 'Kangi Yatapi'. As a prisoner of war, Crow King posed for this picture in Barry's studio at Fort Buford, D.T., in the winter of 1881. During the battle of Little Bighorn, Crow King and his band of 80 warriors attacked Custer from the south, allowing Crazy Horse and Gall to encircle the doomed 7th Cavalry. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Gall 'Pizi' (ca. 1838-1895). A wise, fearless, and successful war chief, Gall was Sitting Bull's adopted brother and one of the few Indians for which the army offered a bounty. While visiting Fort Berthold, D.T., Gall was discovered and bayoneted by soldiers. Assumed to be dead, his body was abandoned by those in his camp, and in the bitter cold of a Dakota winter night Gall staggered some 20 miles in search of aid. Stabbed through his neck, belly and abdomen, it was nearly a year before he recovered completely. Gall poses, painted as if for battle, in Barry's Ford Buffalo studio shortly before he was sent to the Standing Rock Agency. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Only weeks after they had been ordered by Agent McLaughlin (center) to arrest Sitting Bull as an attempt to calm the growing unrest from the Messiah Craze (Ghost Dance), the Sioux police pose victoriously for Barry's camera. The arrest attempt was disastrous, resulting in the deaths of six Indian police, Sitting Bull, his son Crow Foot and eight of Crow's followers. The panic which followed culminated in the infamous Wounded Knee affair two weeks later. Red Tomahawk (front center) killed Sitting Bull. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Following the travesty at Wounded Knee and the killing of Sitting Bull, Bull's followers and family found themselves outcasts within their own tribe as others feared the possible repercussions for collaborating with those who had refused to submit to the white man. This photograph shows one of the few ways Bull's family could now find to support themselves, a form of degrading prostitution performed before the camera. Bull's two surviving widows have cut their hair short as an expression of sorrow and grief in his death. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Dimensions
23 X 18.5 cm
Size Overall
51 X 41 cm
Medium
Black and white photograph
Condition
"Severe bowing back of both vertical edges away from mat. The tension holders on the back, which keep the back board snug, are coming loose."
Red Cloud 'Makpiya-luta'. As a non-hereditary chief, Red Cloud became the most successful war leader of the Cheyenne and Sioux during the 1860's and the Indians' campaign to close the Bozeman Trail and keep the Powder River inviolate. The Sioux were victorious and with the signing of the Fort Laramic treaty in 1868 the army abandoned her forts within the Dakota's hunting grounds. Thus Red Cloud became one of the few Indians ever to win an armed conflict against the U.S. Army. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
American Horse 'Wasechum Taschunka' (1840-1908). 'Wasechum Taschunka' took on the name American Horse following the death of his uncle ate the Battle of Slim Buttes. During the reservation days, he was considered a notable progressive and became a head Oglala spokesman. As an orator and diplomat, he represented his people in numerous negotiations with the federal government. Following the tragedy of Wounded Knee he became the leader of a unified Sioux delegation which traveled to Washington seeking a more equitable treatment for the Sioux. In his later years he traveled with Buffalo Bill and the Wild West Show. (Harbaugh, P., 1982)
Frank Pimentel exhibited his works in numerous galleries in Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The artist is a recipient of many Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council Awards. His work is included in the collections of Canadian Art Bank, National Library of Canada, Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography. (Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba)
Description
From 'Excerpts from a conversation with Frank Pimentel': "There are people I've photographed consistently over the years. They look a little different - they've changed. You can see something that's happened over time, and I almost have a series of certain people because I've photographed them so much..I think the restaurant is a place that hasn't been able to keep up with the way the world has changed, like at a certain point the people decided that it was time to give up. When I look at the work that I've done it makes sense that I've left the gaps that I have because I'm trying to say something about the place and the people, that the place itself relates to these people and the objects there just seem to - I guess the word is pathetic - they're worn. I get a sense that the people have given up and they are just going through time and they're not going to get any better.." (from Photo Communiqué).
Dimensions
31 X 31 cm
Size Overall
52.5 X 51.5 cm
Medium
Limited edition portfolio of 70 Ektacolor photographs
