Native American Anthropology

This document contains a copy of the original 1859 annuity payment roll for the Lake Superior Chippewa bands residing in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and a roll for the Lake Superior Chippewa bands residing in Michigan and part of the Lac du Flambeau bands residing in Wisconsin.

predominantly tacit or embedded in the practices and experiences. It is commonly exchanged through personal communication and demonstration: From master to apprentice, from parents to children, from neighbour to neighbour, etc. Unless indigenous knowledge is properly documented, analysed and disseminated, there is a risk that within one generation, knowledge could be lost forever. Databases and resource centres would help to exchange, indigenous knowledge from one community to another and promote integration of indigenous knowledge into the development process. Novel information communication technologies (ICTs) facilitate to record the traditional cultural expressions, tacit knowledge and preserve it in the library and museum websites and can be accessed through social media tools.

This document contains a copy of the original 1849 annuity payment roll for the Grand River bands of Ottawa Indians of Michigan along with a transcription of the roll and an index of names. These payments were made under the provisions of the treaties of August 3, 1795, November 17, 1807, September 17, 1818 and August 29, 1821.

Exhibit review of the redesign of the Northwest Coast Hall at the American Museum of Natural History, the museum's oldest gallery, built in 1899 under the direction of American anthropologist Franz Boas and updated in institutional collaboration with a group of consulting indigenous curators.

Ancient figures and symbols are carved into a high rock wall beside the Colorado River, just south of where a traditional Native American geotrail crosses the river near Moab, Utah, USA. Based on ethnographic interviews with tribal and pueblo representatives, the rock peckings identify an ancient ceremonial geosite, which, among other purposes, serves as a site for the Celebration of Creation. The interpretation of the site is situated within the geologically complex and ancient cultural heritage region composed of functionally interrelated nested geoscapes that surround the study area. The analysis is informed by ethnographic interviews from six U.S. federally funded studies that involved thirteen participating tribes and pueblos. The analysis is guided by an intellectual framework aligned with internationally recognized UNESCO heritage categories-namely, geosites, geotrails, and geoscapes. Grounded in these UNESCO heritage categories, the analysis advances new interpretive frameworks, theoretical insights, and culturally responsive strategies for heritage management.

Toponyms is a general scholarly study of place names as they have
been established and disputed over time by different cultural groups
and nation states. Culturally based place names can reference small
geosites, long ceremonial landscapes based on established trails,
and massive geoscapes that are functionally integrated by geology,
climate, and human use. Many of these geosites have been celebrated
by nations in recent times as national parks and world heritage sites.
Multivocality is a term used by the USA federal government to reflect
multiple names for places by cultural groups. Sunset Crater in Arizona
after ethnographic studies [1] involving multiple Native groups who
are now recognizes in a trail sign containing authentic traditional
toponyms reflecting ancient connections with this volcano (Figure
1). Surrounding the park are volcanic lands (Figure 2). The park
continues to be referred to by its colonial name Sunset Crater and the
surrounding lands are called the Flagstaff Volcanic Landscape.

Touring Guide of Naguata' Ceremonial Center. Survey by the authors since1970. Region with 2 square kms around Pico Naiguata' Parque Nacional El Avila. INPARQUES. Contains a Synopsis of the  names in the Statues(Ataihuar) of the Sons and Sisters of the SUN (Chez) (Mariche native ancient Tradition) Studied U.W. by  the authors since  de year 1965.

Interpreting rock art is essentially an archaeology of the ancient mind. Each piece of rock art represents a thought, encapsulated within an imaginary wisdom sphere, symbolizing the collective ideas of the time it was created. Always begin your interpretation by assuming that the rock art scene is not an imitation of life, but a record of beliefs practiced long ago. It may seem overstated, but deciphering rock art requires knowledge of various regional subjects, including archaeology, astronomy, mythology, history, and religion. A lack of a background in these subjects may lead one to focus solely on the rock art visual.

Pour les chrétien·ne·s québécois·es, le siège de Kanesatake a été à la fois un choc et l’occasion d’un renouveau des solidarités envers les peuples autochtones. Un choc, d’abord, la « crise » d’Oka ayant révélé le visage le plus hideux du racisme anti-autochtones. L’émeute de Châteauguay (8 août 1990) et la pluie de pierres à Whiskey Trench (20 août 1990) sont assurément les moments les plus sombres et les plus violents de l’été sanglant de 1990, au même titre que le décès du caporal Marcel Lemay. Cet « été indien » a d’ailleurs été suivi par un horrible ressac raciste envers les Autochtones, et ce, d’un bout à l’autre de la province, sinon du pays.
À l’issue de la « crise » d’Oka, les Québécois·es ont cependant été nombreux·ses à prendre la mesure de l’ampleur du racisme envers les peuples autochtones. Et aussi de leur méconnaissance des réalités vécues par les membres des Premiers Peuples. Suscitant une prise de conscience collective dont l’anthropologue Emanuelle Dufour a brossé les contours dans son livre C’est le Québec qui est né dans mon pays ! Une prise de conscience dont les chrétien·ne·s ont été partie prenante.

Weaving with willow is an appropriate technique for making volumnious objects. Last year I started making objects with the tube as a starting shape. It is a small step from a tube to a trumpet shape. And while weaving, a trumpet shape can easily develop into a sphere. This paper describes the making of a kagome willow torus.

Archaeological data and information gleaned from oral traditions indicate the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) people of the western Great Lakes region of North America had a matrilineal system of kinship between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. These sources greatly enhance our ability to understand Ho-Chunk history in deep time, as documentary sources are nonexistent before the period of French contact. The near destruction of this society by the Illiniwek nations (Illinois Confederacy) in the 1640s and 1650s, followed by the introduction of the fur trade, necessitated a societal reorganization that favored smaller, mobile villages characterized by patrilineal descent in the same manner as the Ho-Chunks’ Central Algonquian neighbors. Nevertheless, symbols of the earlier matrilineal culture carried forward into the post-contact era, and the Ho-Chunk people retained essential matrilineal elements. Anthropologist Clifford Geertz has argued that symbolic systems are powerful elements that shape cultural practices. Marie-François Guedon employs Geertz’s theory of culture to say that matriculture exists when women retain essential roles, even in patrilineal cultures. Even after the shift to patrilineal descent, the Ho-Chunks continued to demonstrate matrilineal traits such as the strong avuncular relationship between a man and his sisters’ children. Descent, under certain conditions, could also proceed through the female line, with children receiving their clan affiliations from the mother rather than the father. Similarly, the possessor of a clan war bundle could bequeath the sacred object to a male child of his sister rather than one of his sons. The best example of the underlying matriculture of Ho-Chunk society was the elevation of a woman, Hąboguwįga (Glory of the Morning), as the leader of the Grand Village of the Ho-Chunks at the head of Lake Winnebago after the death of her father during the eighteenth century.

This article critically engages with the intersections of Indigeneity, decoloniality, and environmental disruption through a critique of the imposition of Bilagáanaa (Western) planning paradigms on the Navajo Nation governmental structures. We examine the Navajo Nation Chapter House Community Land Use Plan and emphasize how community-based processes of knowledge production, like mind maps, challenge and reframe the Navajo Nation Land policies. Historically, architectural and planning consultants produced comprehensive plans that are neither culturally suited to the desires of Diné (Navajo Nation citizens). These externally imposed processes often disregard the distinctive social dynamics, built environments, and community-based economies of Diné life, while simultaneously failing to articulate a sustainable, longterm vision for environmental and economic resilience. In response, we highlight how Diné apply the principles of Sa’ah Naagháí Bik’eh Hózhóón’ (critical Diné Land-based planning praxis).

Toponyms is a general scholarly study of place names as they have
been established and disputed over time by different cultural groups
and nation states. Culturally based place names can reference small
geosites, long ceremonial landscapes based on established trails,
and massive geoscapes that are functionally integrated by geology,
climate, and human use. Many of these geosites have been celebrated
by nations in recent times as national parks and world heritage sites.
Multivocality is a term used by the USA federal government to reflect
multiple names for places by cultural groups. Sunset Crater in Arizona
after ethnographic studies [1] involving multiple Native groups who
are now recognizes in a trail sign containing authentic traditional
toponyms reflecting ancient connections with this volcano (Figure
1). Surrounding the park are volcanic lands (Figure 2). The park
continues to be referred to by its colonial name Sunset Crater and the
surrounding lands are called the Flagstaff Volcanic Landscape.
continues to be referred to by its colonial name Sunset Crater and the
surrounding lands are called the Flagstaff Volcanic Landscape. This is a summary of topo resaerch on similar places.

During the 1519-1522 Magellan expedition, the fleet’s astronomer Andrés de San Martín made two remarkably accurate longitude measurements, an order of magnitude better than what was typical for the 16th century. How he managed to do so has remained shrouded in mystery for the last 500 years. NASA’s latest ephemerides have helped to unveil the secret.

Honored to be the 2025 recipient of the Society for Applied Anthropology's Bronislaw Malinowski Award, in this Lecture, I outline the trajectory of my career as an applied anthropologist, as a way of life, not merely a profession. My initiation into applied anthropology began as a Peace Corps volunteer working on an agrarian reform project in Peru in the 1960s. A preoccupation with rural poverty in the Andes was central to my early career and my late career when I returned to Peru, establishing The Chijnaya Foundation that supports projects in health, education and sustainable economic development in fifty communities around Lake Titicaca. During the AIDS pandemic, my focus shifted to HIV/AIDS prevention research, followed by a foray into historic preservation in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I conclude with commentary on the difficult challenges faced today by applied anthropologists in a dramatically different environment from the one in which I operated during my long career.

This article compares the trickster stories of Ainishaabeg (Ojibwes) and Ininiw (Cree) people, specifically the Swampy Cree or Omushkegowak, in northern Canada. Focusing on one storyteller from each culture -Omushkego Louis Bird from the west coast of James Bay and Anishinaabe William Berens form the east coast of Lake Winnipegthe article demonstrates that the long-term practice of telling sacred stories taught Indigenous peoples how to survive and thrive in their harsh environments. Although Omushkego stories highlight the importance of individual resourcefulness for survival, stories from both cultures emphasize that people should live together in communities to achieve the best life. The article also emphasizes the importance of appreciating local distinctiveness, listening carefully to Indigenous voices, and seeking guidance from Indigenous people.

The Center for Conservation Biology is an organization dedicated to discovering innovative solutions to environmental problems that are both scientifically sound and practical within today's social context. Our philosophy has been to use a general systems approach to locate critical information needs and to plot a deliberate course of action to reach what we believe are essential information endpoints.

According to traditional belief of Ojibwe, Cree, Innu Cree, and other northern woodlands hunter-fisher-gatherers, slain game will reincarnate if proper protocol is followed. Several tales from William Jones’ Ojibwa Texts, as well as some other stories, pertain to this theme. I have decided it would be useful to pull together my ethno-discursive translations of these, along with relevant ethnohistory and ethnography, lest they get lost among the scores of translation-studies on my website. They should be of interest to anyone researching indigenous beliefs about the natural world cross-culturally. I added a tale about Soaring Eagle, which speaks to theme of not overusing resources.

Transcribed in this document is the 1853 annuity payment roll for the Chippewas of Saginaw, Swan Creek and Black River of Michigan. This document includes a transcription of the payment roll, a copy of the original roll and an index of names.

Resumo: O presente artigo procura mapear os discursos que têm sido realizados com base em etnografias realizadas por mulheres em torno da arte indígena no Mato Grosso do Sul, em especial a produção de cerâmica Kadiwéu. Produzida também por mulheres, a cerâmica Kadiwéu, bem como as pinturas que adornavam essas peças no passado tem chamado atenção da antropologia pelo menos desde a primeira metade do século XX quando foram objeto de reflexões de dois renomados antropólogos, a saber, Claude Lévi-Strauss e Darcy Ribeiro. Ao longo do tempo, outros autores e autoras seguiram os estudos acerca da arte ceramista e do grafismo Kadiwéu enfatizando elementos de continuidade e de inovação. Preliminarmente podemos inferir a singularidade da cultura material desta etnia, ao ponto de seguir despertando estudos antropológicos, vinculados aos seus significados e relações com outros elementos da cultura, como a mitologia, organização social e relações entre parentes.

What does it mean for scholars to engage rocks ethnographically? And how is ethnography redefined back by an encounter with lithics? Although rock has long lingered in the background of sociocultural research, it is only recently that ethnographers have begun to foreground the geologic, often in conversations about extraction and extinction. But how do everyday practices of knowing and caring for rocks and lithic places articulate with what some call the "geologic turn" in the humanities and social sciences? In this article, I propose the term "lithic ethnography" to encompass research in and around cultural anthropology that is attentive to aesthetic, linguistic, and material/body practices of human-rock intimacy across scales. I showcase rock climbers as paradigmatic figures of a lithic ethnography, as they demonstrate what it can mean to privilege movement and correspondence over static form or identity and to try to forge relations-however partial-with lithic material.

El Paraguay Católicoé uma crônica que o jesuíta espanhol José Sánchez Labrador (1714 ou 1717 a 1798) terminou de escrever em 1770, em que relata sua experiência de mais de sete anos como missionário entre os indígenas Eyiguayegui (também conhecidos como Guaicuru ou Mbayá) no pueblo de Belén, província do Paraguai. Desde sua publicação em 1910, estudiosos têm buscado nesse texto elementos das culturas indígenas, mas ainda faltam estudos sobre o programa de evangelização defendido ali. Argumento que o autor preferiu um enfoque acomodativo de evangelização em decorrência da autonomia e do poderio militar de que desfrutavam os Eyiguayegui naquele momento, que impediam o uso de métodos mais coercitivos. A acomodação emerge na crônica como opção plausível aos jesuítas diante dos povos indígenas independentes, contatados em meados do Setecentos nas áreas fronteiriças das Américas.

Robert Hall (1975:25) once equated the efforts of archaeologists to understand Cahokia with the blind men and the elephant, each archaeologist gazing intently into his or her own small part of the beast, seeking to comprehend this extinct megalopolis. Cahokia has been labeled both a state and a chiefdom, perceived as an economic giant and as economically inconsequential, as a regional military power and as a polity only in partial control of its own immediate hinterlands. How do we reconcile such divergent views? [Emerson 1997a:1]
So what was Cahokia—a chiefdom or a state? . . . [S]uch typologically framed questions do not bring understanding to the issue of Cahokian political organization. At its height, Cahokia may have had some characteristics of an incipient state that died “aborning.” During its historical political trajectory, Cahokia, at one point, was likely a “simple” chiefdom; later probably a sacral paramount chiefdom, perhaps on the verge of becoming a state; and, in its final decline, per- haps a simple chiefdom again. But these labels do not inform us in and of themselves. What . . .
is [critical is] the question of specifics. At each point in its complex development, how were Ca- hokian politics and society organized, how and when did this take place, how does this resemble other known examples of the rise of complex so- cieties, and how does this example correlate with the theoretical literature on the development of such societies? [Emerson 1997a:251]

2025, 384 pp., full-color photos and figures, sidebars, references

This comprehensive, collaborative volume contains 16 chapters with over 40 authors and contributors from multiple institutions and organizations throughout the state, including a forward by Logan Pappenfort, Director of Tribal Relations at the Illinois State Museum.

No matter the origin of [the] passion and curiosity, there is solace in the thought that as long as humans exist, we will not cease attempting to understand one another, past, present, or indeed into our future. This volume will likely become a resource for many people from different walks of life with one thing in common: a yearning to understand the past and the lives of those who walked this landscape before us. However, I hope that this is the beginning of that journey.... This is the nature of archaeology and human curiosity; we seek to know the obfuscated past and, as a result, will be able to gain a deeper holistic understanding of who the Indigenous people of Illinois were in the deep past and who they are today.

—Logan Pappenfort, Director of Tribal Relations, Illinois State Museum

The volume relays what is known about the 12,000+ year history of Illinois through archaeology for the public and includes time periods and regional and topical areas that are often overlooked. The deep history of Illinois is described and illustrated with much of the information and images from archaeological projects conducted by ISAS and other researchers and institutions. The volume concludes with “Exploring Our Past,” a section that provides the reader with locations where they can visit and explore archaeology and the deep history of Illinois it reveals.

Honored to be the 2025 recipient of the Society for Applied Anthropology's Bronislaw Malinowski Award, in this Lecture, I outline the trajectory of my career as an applied anthropologist, as a way of life, not merely a profession. My initiation into applied anthropology began as a Peace Corps volunteer working on an agrarian reform project in Peru in the 1960s. A preoccupation with rural poverty in the Andes was central to my early career and my late career when I returned to Peru, establishing The Chijnaya Foundation that supports projects in health, education and sustainable economic development in fifty communities around Lake Titicaca. During the AIDS pandemic, my focus shifted to HIV/AIDS prevention research, followed by a foray into historic preservation in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I conclude with commentary on the difficult challenges faced today by applied anthropologists in a dramatically different environment from the one in which I operated during my long career.

The White River today flows along much of its 270-mile length south along the Colorado Plateau as it has since the Pleistocene. During wetter times,
it was a raging river flowing between high mountains and across volcanic places. It contained large side streams, and along its length were lakes and
wetlands. It was in the later Pleistocene then, much as it is today, a center of Native American spiritual and ceremonial life. This analysis is based on
more than a dozen ethnographic studies conducted over 40 years, compiled from field interpretations from tribally appointed representatives, and
subsequently reviewed by them and approved by their tribal governments.

Keywords: Geoheritage, Cultural landscapes, Pleistocene, Cultural heritage, Colorado plateau, Native Americans, Nevada

This paper revisits a report by Pomponius Mela from the 1st century AD, describing 'Indians' who allegedly were cast by a storm from Indian waters and ended up on the shores of Germania. The authors analyze this narrative through classical sources and geographical assumptions of the time, questioning its feasibility and suggesting a potential transatlantic origin for these castaways. By exploring ancient maritime theories, the Gulf Stream, and navigation practices, the article raises the possibility that these so-called 'Indians' may have been oceanic castaways from the Americas or Caribbean. This scenario not only invites reconsideration of pre-Columbian transoceanic contact but also highlights the limitations of Roman geographic knowledge and ethnographic labeling.

The McMullan's paper is an outgrowth of research for the author's MA thesis, "Beechland and the Lost Colony". In it he calls for an archaeological study of riven coffins that he and associates have located in Beechland. Local legend claims that members of Sir Walter Raleigh's lost colonists lived in Beechland with the Croatan Indians.

Part 2 of the hunting series utilizing "textual" or ethnoarchaeology (mining historical accounts) to validate and expand conclusions from physical archaeology in better understanding ancient peoples on the pre-American continent. Even with some cultural, technological, religious and lifeway differences among peoples from Paleo to proto-historic times, the premise of this series is that the essence of the makers of artifacts in collections today was fundamentally the same as the people's encountered in the raw at contact. There may be room to argue what "difference" mean and how significant they were but stasis in essence is possible to discern even with cultural contamination and European practices infiltrating Native customs such as the uses of firearms, metal knives and horses. Adopting such tools may have altered hunting strategy, approach and even philosophy but the Native at contact (and after) was far more Native than European because of a long heritage of beliefs.

Eyewitness accounts and journals show that species hunted (and some tools used) by people at contact was consistent with the diet of peoples going back through Archaic to post-Clovis. Indications from Archaic to Woodland sites in Colorado, for example, show that man harvested all the species compiled from historical texts in this treatise, the textual record a reliable window into more ancient cultures.

Az igazi indián filozófiája szerint indiánnak lenni egyfajta tartást, szellemi állapotot jelent; indiánnak lenni egyfajta létállapotot jelent, amit az ember a szívében hordoz. Ez azt jelenti, hogy a Szív szavát követed, s mintegy energia-elosztóként működsz ezen a Bolygón; ez azt jelenti, hogy hallgatsz a szívedre, az érzéseidre, a megérzéseidre, hogy eloszthasd az energiádat; hogy a Föld és az Ég hasonló energiáit mágnesként magadhoz vonzzad; s a szívedbőllényed valódi központjábólújra eloszthasd. Ez a mi feladatunk." Brooke Medicine Eagle, Nez Percé és Sioux 1 1934-ben látott Magyarországon napvilágot a Hosszú Lándzsa emlékezései: egy indiánfőnök önéletrajza című kötet, Baktay Ervin fordításában. A Földgömb, a Magyar Földrajzi Társaság folyóiratamelynek Baktay ekkor lett szerkesztője -így harangozta be megjelenését: "Hosszú Lándzsa műve a legautentikusabb, legjellemzőbb, legérdekesebb és legmegbízhatóbb leírását adja az egykori indiánéletnek, amely azóta már eltűnt az északamerikai kontinensről." 2 Bölényfia Hosszú Lándzsa 1890-ben, Sylvester Clark Long néven született az északkarolinai Winston-Salemben, felmenői között lumbee, cseroki indiánok, fehérek és feketék is voltak. A családot az államban érvényben lévő törvények alapján fekete származásúnak tekintették. Bár a polgárháború után a feketék jogai bővültek az Egyesült Államokban, a 13. számú alkotmány kiegészítés 1865-ben eltörölte a rabszolgaságot, s 1868-ban állampolgárságot és alkotmányos védelmet, 1870-ben pedig szavazati jogot is biztosítottak minden, az Egyesült Államokban született férfinak. Kis idő elteltével, 1877-től, amikor az északi és déli elitek kiegyeztek egymással, s az alkotmány kiegészítések már nem működtek a gyakorlatban, növekedett a feketék elleni agresszió, amelynek hatására 1879-ben bekövetkezett az ún. Kansasi Exodus, a feketék tömeges északra menekülése. 1896-ban a Legfelsőbb Bíróság a faji elkülönítést is törvényesnek mondta ki, és alkotmányos szintre emelte az "elkülönítve, de

Peter T. Gayford is a professional researcher whose work has focused on Native American land claims for two decades. Gayford has a research collection established at The Newberry Library in Chicago. The following work provides a history of Chief Alexander Robinson's reserve located in Cook County, Illinois. Robinson's reserve was awarded in the 1829 Treaty of Prairie du Chien with the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi.

Peter T. Gayford is a professional researcher whose work has focused on Native American land claims for two decades. Gayford has a research collection established at The Newberry Library in Chicago. The following work provides a history of Jane Miranda and Victoire Pothier's reserves in Cook County, Illinois. Both reserves were awarded in the 1829 Treaty of Prairie du Chien with the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi.

Peter T. Gayford is a professional researcher whose work has focused on Native American land claims for two decades. Gayford has a research collection established at The Newberry Library in Chicago. The following work provides a history of Archange Ouilmette's reserve in Cook County, Illinois. The reserve was awarded in the 1829 Treaty of Prairie du Chien with the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi.

In recent years, a new confederation has emerged from the Southeastern United States known as Machi Patawa-a self-defined Aboriginal American collective reclaiming lineage, culture, and language outside the constraints of imposed tribal categories and racialized colonial constructs. This paper explores how the Machi Patawa are redefining Native identity through a decolonized lens, blending oral traditions, whole-genome science, and community innovation to restore sovereignty over their ancestral narratives.

Stickball is more than a mere game for the Choctaw; is a tradition imbued with religious significance. As Choctaw filmaker Mark Williams (July 23, 2021) said on Facebook, “This is more than just a game to the Choctaw people. It’s an identity.” The crafting of the sticks symbolizes respect for their ancestors and the vitality of their culture. The sticks require considerable time and effort to create, but the Choctaw devote themselves to this practice with care and reverence to preserve their heritage for future generations. Today, stickball remains essential aspect of Choctaw heritage: the game underscores the virtues of collective effort and community contribution that are fundamental to the Choctaw Nation. Hence, stickball is both a cherished custom and a powerful emblem of Choctaw identity.

Giacomo Costantino Beltrami, ex magistrato napoleonico in disgrazia e in forzato auto-esilio, si colloca all’interno della tradizione del Grand Tour della metà del XVIII e dell’inizio del XIX secolo e, con il suo atteggiamento disincantato, è in un certo senso un precursore del flaneur, un termine del giornalismo della Restaurazione post napoleonica che indica lo sfaccendato che passeggia per le strade della città. In effetti, per quelle che chiama ‘passeggiate’ Beltrami segue l’itinerario più vago, in giro per l’Europa e le città americane, finché decide di inventarsi esploratore, non di paesaggi urbani, ma della frontiera, ma sempre con lo stesso atteggiamento da flaneur, che ride delle stranezze dei ‘selvaggi’ come di quelle degli americani. L’oggetto delle sue passeggiate era ‘il cuore di tenebra’ del Minnesota, dove Ojibwe e Sioux combattevano per il dominio dell’area, dove gli americani avevano appena vinto il braccio di ferro con gli inglesi per il dominio del Vecchio Nord-Ovest e le compagnie di pellicce competevano per dominare il mercato. In questo contesto, tra una caccia al bisonte e un’imboscata tra Sioux e Ojibwe, ma protetto dal suo ombrello rosso e dalla longa manus dell’Agente Indiano Lawrence Taliaferro, cercò le sorgenti del Mississippi e raccolse ‘curiosità indiane’. Beltrami rimane ancorato al razionalismo settecentesco: la continua enumerazione di aspetti del paesaggio americano con la pignoleria di un cartografo, la litania di nomi di laghi, fiumi e ruscelli rappresenta il suo tentativo di imporre la razionalità della mappa al paesaggio, non un parco europeo, ma la wilderness, il territorio selvaggio della frontiera, che lo spaventa e lo turba. A questo si aggiungono una scarsa capacità di adattamento e la propensione a piantare rabbiose scenate e capricci che lo mettono nelle condizioni di soffrire la fame e il freddo a causa delle sue minime conoscenze della vita in campagna senza uno stuolo di servi al suo servizio. Beltrami descrive se stesso in abito indiano due volte e nel ritratto che appare nel Pilgrimage (1828), si presenta in posa eroica, mentre nello sfondo mostra la rissa tra fazioni Ojibwe a Leech Lake. Il ritratto strizza l’occhio a due quadri famosi, dipinti alcuni decenni prima, dove i soggetti, due baronetti anglo-irlandesi, indossano in tutto o in parte abiti indiani e vi è una piccola scena nello sfondo, uno stilema ripreso nella litografia di Beltrami.
Mentre gli ufficiali britannici si mostrano nella loro qualità di negoziatori tra due mondi nei consigli dei capi indiani, il messaggio di Beltrami è diverso, pur essendo altrettanto politico: da un lato, egli  dimostra che le sue ‘passeggiate’ nella Frontiera lo hanno messo a contatto con il Buon Selvaggio di Rousseau, che non è poi tanto Buono come mostra la scena di violenza dello sfondo. Dall’altro, quegli abiti curiosi testimoniano il suo viaggio Laggiù, le impenetrabili foreste lungo il Mississippi, in un Grand Tour ancor più remoto dell’auto-imposto esilio dell’eroe byroniano, Childe Harold, cui si rifà Beltrami, e altrettanto esotico di quello del tormentato e passionale René di Chateaubriand.

Giacomo Costantino Beltrami, a disgraced former Napoleonic magistrate in forced self-exile, can be placed in the tradition of the Grand Tour of the mid-18th and early 19th centuries and, with his disillusioned attitude, is to a certain extent a forerunner of the flâneur, a term used in the journalism of the post-Napoleonic Restoration to describe a detached, yet sophisticated observer of society strolling through the city streets. Indeed, in his so-called 'promenades', Beltrami follows a very vague itinerary through European and American cities, until he decides to invent himself as an explorer, not of urban landscapes but of the frontier, but always with the same flâneur attitude, making fun of the oddities of the 'savages' as much as those of the Americans. The subject of his promenades was the 'Heart of Darkness' in Minnesota, where Ojibwe and Sioux fought for supremacy in the area where the Americans had just won the tug-of-war with the British for supremacy in the Old Northwest and where the fur companies competed for supremacy in the market. In this context, between a buffalo hunt and an ambush between Sioux and Ojibwe, but protected by his red umbrella and the longa manus of the Indian agent Lawrence Taliaferro, he searched the headwaters of the Mississippi and collected 'Indian curiosities'. Beltrami remains wedded to eighteenth-century rationalism: the constant enumeration of aspects of the American landscape with the fussiness of a cartographer, the litany of names of lakes, rivers and streams represents his attempt to transfer the rationality of the map to the landscape, not to a European park, but to the wilderness, the wild territory of the frontier that frightens and worries him. Added to this is his lack of adaptability and his tendency to outbursts of anger and moodiness, which, due to his limited knowledge of country life without an army of servants at his beck and call, put him in a position to suffer from hunger and cold. Beltrami describes himself twice in Indian dress, and in the portrait that appears in Pilgrimage (1828), he presents himself in a heroic pose, while the background shows the brawl between Ojibwe factions at Leech Lake. The portrait refers to two famous paintings created a few decades earlier. The sitters, two Anglo-Irish baronets, are wearing all or part of their Indian dress, and a small scene can be seen in the background, a stylistic pattern that recurs in Beltrami's lithograph. While the British officers are shown in their capacity as negotiators between two worlds in the councils of Indian leaders, Beltrami's message is a different one, albeit an equally political one: on the one hand, he shows that his 'promenades' on the frontier have brought him into contact with Rousseau's Good Savage, who is not so good after all, as the violent scene in the background shows. On the other hand, these strange garments bear witness to his journey there, into the impenetrable woods along the Mississippi, on a Grand Tour even more remote than the self-imposed exile of the Byronic hero Childe Harold, to whom Beltrami refers, and just as exotic as that of Chateaubriand's tormented and passionate René.