Oglala Sioux

Antonio Frasconi

"Oglala Sioux" is one of five portraits Frasconi did in 1971 titled "Indian Chiefs". The series was co-published by Frasconi's dealer in New York, Terry Dintenfoss Gallery and Roten Galleries in Baltimore, Maryland. Both their chops are in the lower margin.

Antonio Frasconi was best known for his color woodcuts, many large in size. This series of images were done using lithography, printed by New York Master Printer Burr Miller. The image uses a "woodgrain" effect and are often misdescribed as woodcuts.

Hidden away in the southwest corner of South Dakota lies the second largest Native American Reservation in the U.S., Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe. The Great Sioux Reservation was broken up into five portions. This caused the Red Cloud Agency to be moved multiple times throughout the 1870s until it was relocated and renamed the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1878. By 1890, the reservation included 5,537 people, divided into a number of districts that included some 30 distinct communities.

The most noted chieftain of the Oglala Lakota was Crazy Horse (1840-1877). There were many great Lakota chiefs, including Lone Bear, American Horse, Crow Dog and Red Fish. This portrait appears to be a compilation, rather than a specific portrait.