Figure078

Citation

Thomas M. Easterly. “Na-Che-Ninga, Chief of the Iowa.” circa 1847-51. Harvard Peabody Museum (T1904 41-72-10; 53023B). Mirror of Race, 11 Feb. 2021, mirrorofrace.bc.edu/items/show/269. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.

Title

Na-Che-Ninga, Chief of the Iowa

Subject

Na-Che-Ninga, Chief of the Iowa

Creator

Thomas M. Easterly

Date

circa 1847-51

Type

studio portrait

Identifier

Figure078

Rights Holder

Harvard Peabody Museum (T1904 41-72-10; 53023B)

Original Format

daguerreotype

Physical Dimensions

Ninth Plate (2 x 2.5 inches)

Factual Commentary

This daguerreotype by Thomas M. Easterly (1809-1882), of St. Louis, portrays Na-Che-ninga (1797-1862), a chief of the Ioway, or Iowa, tribe.

Easterly took several photographs of Na-Che-ninga (more commonly known as Nacheninga) at the same sitting. Several clues show that this particular image is a copy daguerreotype of another, original image. For one thing, the edges of the original are dimly visible. Secondly, Easterly used a sharp tool to inscribe a caption into the silver surface of the daguerreotype plate. That inscription shows up here backwards, because unless a camera had reversing lens, it would show the subject in a mirror image, as it is in this case. That inscription reads as follows (see below for a close-up of the photograph, with the image reversed to show the writing more clearly):

“Na-Che-ninga, or No Heart of fear. Chief of the Iowa tribe.”

Nacheninga had a reputation as a fierce warrior and shrewd negotiator, one who kept his people whole. He rose to the position as chief in 1851, when his predecessor, Mahaska (White Cloud) died. Nacheninga dealt with the United States government and negotiated treaties in Washington, DC. In this daguerreotype, he poses wrapped in a heavy blanket and holding what must have been a prized possession, a splendidly crafted rifle. On another daguerreotype from the same session, Easterly inscribed the following about this weapon:

"The Rifle was presented to the Chief of the Chippeways by King William the fourth of England during his sojourn in America.” And: "The barrel is made of Gold, Silver, and Platina, and carries an ounce ball with accuracy a distance of one mile.”

If that is all true, the rifle would have been an exceptionally valuable weapon. William IV reigned 1830-1837, and as a much younger man, he served in the British navy, stationed in New York during the Revolution, and that is how the rifle may have come to the Chippewa. It is not know how the rifle traveled from the Chippewa, located around the Great Lakes, to the Iowa, although there were certainly trade and diplomatic ties between the peoples.

Harvard’s Peabody Museum, where this photograph is held, notes that the image was collected by David Bushnell, Jr. (1875-1941), an amateur anthropologist and ethnographer with roots in the St. Louis area who donated his collection to the museum after his death.

Interpretive Commentary

Thomas Easterly was an exceptionally skilled daguerreotypist who truly loved the medium ― he refused to give it up even when the daguerreotype process fell out of fashion after around 1860.

Easterly took a particular interest in the Native American people of the regions around St. Louis. That he made multiple images of Nacheninga, and even copied them later, indicates his desire to document those peoples. It is fair to call this image of Nacheninga a portrait, for he seems to be a fully willing partner in his own representation, and as a diplomat and negotiator for his people, the Iowa, he was a man who might have understood the power of projecting an image by whatever means available.

Alternative Title

Collection

Mirror of Race