Braves and Buffalo : Plains Indian Life in 1837

Alfred J. Miller was a young American painter who studied in Europe before accepting an commission to accompany William Drummond Stewart and an American Fur Company caravan to an annual gathering of fur traders and merchants in the Oregon territory. As requested, Miller produced a visual account of the trip through paintings. While some of the volume’s 41 colour plates show the caravan’s participants or progress, most images depict Indigenous figures. Miller paints hunting parties, trading sessions, and moments of everyday life – as well as portraits – lived by Indigenous groups that he encountered. Brief explanations or comments by Miller accompany each painting. Together, the paintings form an 1830s record of Indigenous life in the American west, as well as one of the final Rocky Mountain rendezvous. Includes introductory essay by Michael Bell.