Post #4- "Pigeons Egg Head Goes to D.C."

In George Catlins “Pigeons Egg Head,” painted sometime between 1837-1839, Catlin reveals his attitude about Native Americans. He portrays them as easily influenced by the whites, which forever changed the Natives world view and cultural identity.    

The painting shows what influences the whites had on the Native Americans. The whites tried to push their European ways on the Natives. The painting specifically shows one Indian, “Pigeons Egg Head”, and how he changed after being influenced by the whites in Washington D.C. It is evident that he went to Washington D.C because a picture of the “Jeffersonian” dome shaped capital is located in the left side of the painting. “Pigeons Egg Head”, before going to D.C., was a fine representative of his Native American culture. The expression on his face shows he is dignified and serious. His intricate and ornate outfit symbolizes his richness and pride in his culture. He also is holding a peace pipe, which symbolizes conviviality, or friendliness. Most Natives in the American West in the early nineteenth century, before the white settlers came, were very dedicated to their culture and true to their own personal ethnic identities. When white settlers came to the Natives land not only did conflict arise, but the Natives even changed who they were. 

In 1838 many Native Americans were forced out of their land in Georgia by white settlers. They had to migrate westward into the frontier land in the cold snow and other harsh conditions. This terrible journey from Georgia to Oklahoma was called “The Trail of Tears.” It was called this because many Cherokees died along the way, lacking food supplies and having minimal facilities to use. “The Trail of Tears” was an event in history that shows one of the many conflicts, started by white settlers, with the Native Americans. Many Natives along with being forced to migrate into different lands, very unfamiliar to them, were even assimilated into the white European culture. 

The left side of the painting shows “Pigeons Egg Head” after being influenced by the white culture. He is dressed in some kind of military outfit, consisting of boots with heels, a sash/belt around his waist, white gloves, and a top hat. He is carrying a fan and an umbrella also, which are usually carried by white women, not men. Also in his back pocket there are bottles of liquor.  You can tell that the Indian is drunk because he is leaning on his umbrella in an attemp to maintain balance.  This side of the painting shows “Pigeons Egg Head” trying to become a white person, but is somewhat unsuccessful in doing so. The portrayal of the fan and umbrella tells viewers of the painting that the Indian is out of place in a white society. It shows that he is trying too hard to fit in with the white culture, a place where he does not belong. Even though it may seem that all Indians completely turned away from their old ways, many still kept parts of their culture alive.

Catlin shows sympathy toward the Native Americans in his painting by portraying, on the right side of the painting, suggestions that the Natives sill have a sense of culture, even after the whites influenced them. A part of the Indians culture still remains and is shown by the feather sticking out of “Pigeons Egg Heads'” top hat and also his hair is still long, or even longer than before.

George Catlins painting portrays Native Americans after the whites started to settle and change the Indians ways. Although some natives changed fully, trying to be exactly like the whites, many kept their culture and ethnic identities alive. 

Works Cited:

Image 1- The Trail of Tears : http://ngeorgia.com/history/nghisttt.html

Image 2- "Pigeons Egg Head" : http://www.lemaze-studio.com/masters_giclees/LSA-MSC0006.htm

Comments

[Richard Mun]

Collen, I have to say this is one impressive post on the George Catlin’s “Pigeons Egg Head.” I would have to say it is one of the best I have read so thus far. I like how you had a very strong thesis statement and how it was supported by your body paragraph. You used great example from your Davidson textbook the, “The Trail of Tears.” I like how you tied, “The Trail of Tears” to George Catlin’s “Pigeons Egg Head” showing your audience that there were many conflicts with the white settlers thus also backing up your thesis statement. Although the entry a very good one, nothing is ever perfect. One mistake I found in your entry was that you forgot to cite your sources. I knew “The Trail of Tears” was from your textbook but first time readers might want to know where you are getting all your information from. Second I wanted to point out that this entry involved a lot of observing and I think one way to make your blog entry a little bit more user friendly is actually show the different parts of the picture. Most people are lazy and sometimes even slow so they might not understand or comprehend what you are saying as might you think they would. Lastly, I like to point out was I don’t quite understand what you mean by this paragraph, “Catlin shows sympathy toward the Native Americans in his painting by portraying, on the right side of the painting, suggestions that the Natives sill have a sense of culture, even after the whites influenced them. A part of the Indians culture still remains and is shown by the feather sticking out of “Pigeons Egg Heads'” top hat and also his hair is still long, or even longer than before.” How does this mean that Catlin is showing sympathy? This paragraph was unclear and needs more explanation. Other then that your blog entry was insightful. Cheers.

[Asma Z. /Group 9]

wow, colleen, that's all i can say. Your post was very well written. There were many good things about it. First off, i really liked how you gave the little history of the trail of tears in the middle of the text. Though it is in the middle, you made it so it doesn't seem out of place...and then you went on to describe the other side of the picure. This was very well done. Also another thing that you did well was when you were describing things about pigeon's egg and how differant he was when he came back you didn't just list what was differant, you described each one and how it made him differant. It was very hard to find things that you didn't do so well, but i guess one thing was your introduction. It kind of just starts. You need to put a hook sentence that pulls the readers in. Secondly, in the 2nd paragraph when you describe him before he went to Washington, you didn't describe him as much as you did when he came back. Try to explain it a bit more and lastly, though your conclusion is effective, you are kind of just explaining what we already know. Your restating your introduction basically. Other than that, VERY nicely done. It was hard to find suggestions of imporovement. keep up the good work!