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First People :: Treaties and Agreements  
  Treaty With The Oto, etc
October 15, 1836
Articles of a convention entered into and concluded at Bellevue Upper Missouri the fifteenth day of October one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, by and between John Dougherty U. S. agt. for Indian Affairs and Joshua Pilcher U. S. Ind. s. agt being specially authorized therefor; and the chiefs braves head men of the Otoes Missouries Omahaws and Yankton and Santee bands of Sioux, duly authorized by their respective tribes.

Article 1st.
Whereas it has been represented that according to the stipulations of the first article of the treaty of Prairie du Chien of the fifteenth of July eighteen hundred and thirty, the country ceded is "to be assigned and allotted under the direction of the President of the United States to the tribes now living thereon or to such other tribes as the President may locate thereon for hunting and other purposes," and whereas it is further represented to us the chiefs, braves and head men of the tribes aforesaid, that it is desirable that the lands lying between the State of Missouri and the Missouri river, and south of a line running due west from the northwest corner of said State until said line strikes the Missouri river, should be attached to and become a part of said State, and the Indian title thereto be entirely extinguished; but that notwithstanding as these lands compose a part of the country embraced by the provisions of the said first article of the treaty aforesaid, the stipulations whereof will be strictly observed, until the assent of the Indians interested is given to the proposed measure. Now we the chiefs braves and principal men of the Otoes Missouries Omahaws Yankton and Santee bands of Sioux aforesaid fully understanding the subject and well satisfied from the local position of the lands in question, that they never can be made available for Indian purposes; and that an attempt to place an Indian population on them must inevitably lead to collisions with the citizens of the United States; and, further believing that the extension of the State line in the direction indicated, would have a happy effect by presenting a natural boundary between the whites and Indians; and willing moreover to give the United States a renewed evidence of our attachment and friendship; do hereby for ourselves and on behalf of our respective tribes (having full power and authority to this effect) for ever cede relinquish and quit claim to the United States all our right title and interest of whatsoever nature in and to the lands lying between the State of Missouri and the Missouri river, and south of a line running due west from the northwest corner of the State to the Missouri river, as herein before mentioned, and freely and fully exonerate the United States from any guarantee condition or limitation expressed or implied under the treaty of Prairie du Chien aforesaid or otherwise, as to the entire and absolute disposition of said lands, fully authorizing the United States to do with the same whatever shall seem expedient or necessary.

Article 2d.
As a proof of the continued friendship and liberality of the United States towards the said Otoes Missouries Omahaws and Yankton and Santee bands of Sioux, and as an evidence of the sense entertained for the good will manifested by the said tribes to the citizens and Government of the United States as evinced in the preceding cession and relinquishment; and as some compensation for the great sacrifice made by the several deputations at this particular season, by abandoning their fall hunts and traveling several hundred miles to attend this convention the undersigned John Dougherty and Joshua Pilcher agrees on behalf of the United States to pay as a present to the tribes herein before named the sum of four thousand five hundred and twenty dollars in merchandise, the receipt of which they hereby acknowledge having been distributed among them in the proportions following. To the Otoes twelve hundred and fifty dollars, to the Missouries one thousand dollars to the Omahaws twelve hundred and seventy dolls. to the Yankton and Santee bands of Sioux one thousand dollars.

Article 3d.
In consequence of the removal of the Otoes and Missouries from their former situation on the river Platte to the place selected for them, and of their having to build new habitations last spring at the time which should have been occupied in attending to their crops, it appears that they have failed to such a degree as to make it certain that they will lack the means of subsisting next spring, when it will be necessary for them to commence cultivating the lands now preparing for their use. It is therefore agreed that the said Otoes, and Missouries (in addition to the presents herein before mentioned) shall be furnished at the expense of the United States with five hundred bushels of corn to be delivered at their village in the month of April next. And the same causes operating upon the Omahaws, they having also abandoned their former situation, and established at the place recommended to them on the Missouri river, and finding it difficult without the aid of ploughs to cultivate land near their village where they would be secure from their enemies, it is agreed as a farther proof of the liberality of the Government and its disposition to advance such tribes in the cultivation of the soil as may manifest a disposition to rely on it for the future means of subsistence; that they shall have one hundred acres of ground broke up and put under a fence near their village, so soon as it can be done after the ratification of this convention.

Article 5.
This convention shall be obligatory on the tribes parties hereto, from and after the date hereof, and on the United States from and after its ratification by the Government thereof.

Done, signed, and sealed at Bellevue, Upper Missouri, this fifteenth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, and of the independence of the United States, the sixty-first.

Jno. Dougherty, Indian agent, [L. S.]
Joshua Pilcher, United States Indian subagent, [L. S.]

Otoes:
Jaton, his x mark, [L. S.]
Big Kaw, his x mark, [L. S.]
The Thief, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wah-ro-ne-saw, his x mark, [L. S.]
Buffalo Chief, his x mark, [L. S.]
Shaking Handle, his x mark, [L. S.]
We-ca-ru-ton, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wash-shon-ke-ra, his x mark, [L. S.]
Standing White Bear, his x mark, [L. S.]
O-rah-car-pe, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wah-nah-shah, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wa-gre-ni-e, his x mark, [L. S.] Mon-nah-shu-jah, his x mark, [L. S.]

Missouries:
Hah-che-ge-sug-a, his x mark, [L. S.]
Black Hawk, his x mark, [L. S.]
No Heart, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wan-ge-ge-he-ru-ga-ror, his x mark, [L. S.]
The Arrow Fender, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wah-ne-min-er, his x mark, [L. S.]
Big Wing, his x mark, [L. S.]

Omahaws:
Big Elk, his x mark, [L. S.]
Big Eyes, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wash-kaw-mony, his x mark, [L. S.]
White Horse, his x mark, [L. S.]
White Caw, his x mark, [L. S.]
Little Chief, his x mark, [L. S.]
A-haw-paw, his x mark, [L. S.]
Walking Cloud, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wah-see-an-nee, his x mark, [L. S.]
No Heart, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wah-shing-gar, his x mark, [L. S.]
Standing Elk, his x mark, [L. S.]
Ke-tah-an-nah, his x mark, [L. S.]
Mon-chu-ha, his x mark, [L. S.]
Pe-ze-nin-ga, his x mark, [L. S.]
Yankton and Santees,
Pitta-eu-ta-pishna, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wash-ka-shin-ga, his x mark, [L. S.]
Mon-to-he, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wah-kan-teau, his x mark, [L. S.]
E-ta-ze-pa, his x mark, [L. S.]
Ha-che-you-ke-kha, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wa-men-de-ah-wa-pe, his x mark, [L. S.]
E-chunk-ca-ne, his x mark, [L. S.]
Chu-we-a-teau, his x mark, [L. S.]
Mah-pe-a-tean, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wah-mun-de-cha-ka, his x mark, [L. S.]
Pah-ha-na-jie, his x mark, [L. S.]

Witnesses:
J. Varnum Hamilton, sutler U. S. Dragoons and acting secretary,
William Steele,
John A. Ewell,
William J. Martin,
Martin Dorion, his x mark.

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  Page 3
  3UAILBY. JANES B..INTERVIEW,-8334.Ida A. Merwin,• «7*' „Field Worker, •',August 25, 1937,.'.'•an Interview With Jame8 iJailey,4Rt. 3, Perry, Oklahoma,jrull blood Otoe Indian.i am a full blood utoe I^diacn^the son of Red Wing andNe-ar-soar-J-mejand I wa*s born in Gage County, Nebraska,February 10, 1870fIn 1880 people of Hebraska talked of allotmentjlndiannot know what meant by it; afraid and run away.^"\Several familiar utoe and lowas came to Indian Territoryin wagons, ponies, horseback.J. went to school in agency in J^ebraska, also Otoe AgencyMission School Chilocco, not much education,i#d lots of hunting and fishing^wild game- main food.Indian hash a great dish, .flayed ball, but not likethey play ball today.A gathering of Jive Tribes in Creek Nation near Wellston;V,each tribe had'cow bells of different sounds tied to ponyto indicate tribe. «e had no lanterns, no lights like today;bonfire for otomp uance, we dance all-night - have give awayin morning* This "give-away" consisted of races for horsesand blankets.

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Ahnentafel, Generation No. 2

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2. John E. MOORE was born 26 FEB 1912 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK. He was buried in Otoe-Missouria Tribal Cemetery. He was the son of 4. Frank MOORE and 5. Mary DAILEY.

3. Minnie Mae ENGLISH was born 21 NOV 1915 in Hiawatha, KS, and died 5 NOV 2005 in Oklahoma City, OK. She was buried in Otoe-Missouria Tribal Cemetery. She was the daughter of 6. Reuben ENGLISH and 7. Katie.
   
 Children of Minnie Mae ENGLISH and John E. MOORE are:    i. Living MOORE.
    ii. Living MOORE.
    iii. Living MOORE.
    iv. Living MOORE.
    v. Living MOORE.
    vi. Living MOORE.
1.   vii. Living MOORE.
    viii. Living MOORE.

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Ahnentafel, Generation No. 3

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4. Frank MOORE was born 1865 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died BEF 1930 in Noble County, OK. He was the son of 8. Charles MOORE and 9. Caroline KEGWAROME.

5. Mary DAILEY was born 1874 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died AFT 1932. She was the daughter of 10. BIG WING.
   
 Children of Mary DAILEY and Frank MOORE are:    i. Lizzie MOORE was born 7 MAY 1893 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK Territory, and died 18 JUN 1974. She married Robert TOHEE 1910. He was born ABT 1892 in Pawnee County, OK Territory. She married Thomas MCCLELLAN ABT 1923. He was born ABT 1894 in OK Territory. 
    ii. Fannie MOORE was born 26 DEC 1895 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK Territory, and died AUG 1991 in Harrah, OK. She married Jefferson KIHEGA 1915, son of Charles KIHEGA and Julia WHITECLOUD. He was born JUN 1896 in Oklahoma Territory, and died 23 OCT 1918 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK. She married Frank G. GRANT AFT 1920, son of William GRANT and Mary HONECCHREME. He was born 3 APR 1896 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK Territory, and died 8 MAY 1958. 
    iii. Peter Louis MOORE was born 15 SEP 1898 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK Territory.
    iv. Sydney MOORE was born 15 APR 1903 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK Territory, and died SEP 1993 in Pawnee, OK. He married Dorothy Pearl PETERS, daughter of Jesse PETERS and Nellie P.. She was born ABT 1907 in Oklahoma. 
    v. Robert MOORE was born 13 DEC 1907 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK Territory, and died 3 JUN 1990 in Red Rock, OK. He married Margurite MUNROE 1927, daughter of Roy MUNROE and Julia MAHEE. She was born 2 APR 1909 in Kay County, OK. He married Edna DEROIN FEB 1943, daughter of James DEROIN and Lina KIHEGA. She was born 19 JUL 1923 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK, and died 21 JAN 1998 in Ponca City, OK. 
    vi. Mary MOORE was born 12 DEC 1908 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK, and died DEC 1970 in Hominy, OK. She married James Gail SURRITTE 24 JUL 1935 in Pawnee, OK. He was born 24 AUG 1912 in Pottersville, MO, and died FEB 1966 in Hominy, OK. 
2.   vii. John E. MOORE was born 26 FEB 1912 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK. He married Minnie Mae ENGLISH AFT 1932, daughter of Reuben ENGLISH and Katie. She was born 21 NOV 1915 in Hiawatha, KS, and died 5 NOV 2005 in Oklahoma City, OK. 
    viii. Thurman Frank MOORE was born 12 MAR 1917 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK, and died 28 NOV 1970.
    ix. Everett L. MOORE was born 14 OCT 1919 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK, and died AUG 1977 in Pawnee, OK.

6. Reuben ENGLISH was born 10 JAN 1893 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, Indian Territory. He was the son of 12. Harry ENGLISH and 13. Dora ODONRAME.

7. Katie was born ABT 1890. 
   
 Child of Katie and Reuben ENGLISH is:3.   i. Minnie Mae ENGLISH was born 21 NOV 1915 in Hiawatha, KS, and died 5 NOV 2005 in Oklahoma City, OK. She married John E. MOORE AFT 1932, son of Frank MOORE and Mary DAILEY. He was born 26 FEB 1912 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK. 

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Ahnentafel, Generation No. 4

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8. Charles MOORE was born ABT 1850 in Nebraska Territory, and died BEF 1895 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, Indian Terr. 

9. Caroline KEGWAROME was born ABT 1838 in Nebraska Territory, and died AFT 1910 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK. 
   
 Child of Caroline KEGWAROME and Charles MOORE is:4.   i. Frank MOORE was born 1865 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died BEF 1930 in Noble County, OK. He married Mary DAILEY ABT 1892, daughter of BIG WING. She was born 1874 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died AFT 1932. 

10. BIG WING was born ABT 1820 in Nebraska Territory. He was the son of 20. MISSOURI CHIEF.
   
 Children of BIG WING are:    i. James B. DAILEY was born 20 OCT 1872 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died 15 AUG 1967. He married Rosa LADUE, daughter of Augustus LADUE and Emily DEROIN. She was born 16 JAN 1872 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died 1956. 
5.   ii. Mary DAILEY was born 1874 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died AFT 1932. She married Frank MOORE ABT 1892, son of Charles MOORE and Caroline KEGWAROME. He was born 1865 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died BEF 1930 in Noble County, OK. She married Samuel BLACK ABT 1931. He was born 1860 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died 1941. 
    iii. Lee Curtis DAILEY was born JUN 1875 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died 1930. He married Julia LADUE ABT 1903, daughter of Augustus LADUE and Emily DEROIN. She was born NOV 1884 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, Indian Territory. 
    iv. Lena DAILEY was born 1884 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, Indian Territory, and died AFT 1912 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK. She married Living ROBEDEAUX, son of Felix ROBEDEAUX and Laura DEROIN. 

12. Harry ENGLISH was born ABT 1868 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died BEF 1900. He was the son of 24. Frank O. ENGLISH.

13. Dora ODONRAME was born 1872 in Kansas. 
   
 Child of Dora ODONRAME and Harry ENGLISH is:6.   i. Reuben ENGLISH was born 10 JAN 1893 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, Indian Territory. He married Katie. She was born ABT 1890. 

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Ahnentafel, Generation No. 5

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20. MISSOURI CHIEF was born ABT 1800 in Nebraska Territory. 
   
 Children of MISSOURI CHIEF are:10.   i. BIG WING was born ABT 1820 in Nebraska Territory.
    ii. MISSOURI CHIEF was born ABT 1823 in Nebraska Territory.
    iii. Richard WHITE HORSE was born 1833 in Nebraska Territory, and died 5 AUG 1921 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK. He married Rachel GREECHEEME, daughter of CHENORADAWAME. She was born ABT 1836 in Nebraska Territory, and died BEF 1900 in Otoe-Missouria Reservation, OK Territory. He married Sallie PICKERING ABT 1895, daughter of Blue-Bird PICKERING. She was born 1863 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE. 
    iv. PAWNEECOOGEE was born ABT 1840 in Nebraska Territory, and died ABT 1880 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE. He married HOOGRADOWAME. She was born ABT 1840 in Nebraska Territory, and died ABT 1880 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE. 

24. Frank O. ENGLISH was born 1843 in Nebraska Territory, and died 29 DEC 1915 in Noble County, OK. He was buried in Otoe-Missouria Tribal Cemetery.
   
 Children of Frank O. ENGLISH are:12.   i. Harry ENGLISH was born ABT 1868 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died BEF 1900. He married Dora ODONRAME. She was born 1872 in Kansas. 
    ii. William H. ENGLISH was born 1882 in Otoe-Missouria (Big Blue) Reservation, NE, and died 15 JUL 1926. He married Katie ABT 1904. She was born 1885 in Nebraska. 

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Getting a Native American Tattoo
The Trouble With Tribal Designs
The latest hot question filling my email box, usually from young people with American Indian ancestry, is "What are the traditional designs for Cherokee (or Blackfoot, or Lenape, or any other Native American) tribal tattoos? Because my grandmother was part Cherokee (or Blackfoot, or Lenape) and I want to honor my heritage."

Well, this isn't a bad question on the face of it. Many American Indian tribes do have traditions of tribal tattoo art. In some tribes this tradition is unbroken, and in others it's being revived by Indian young people. However, if you are writing to me and asking this question, I would encourage you to consider three things:

1. You may have Indian heritage, but you do not have an actual connection with your ancestors' tribe, otherwise you would have family members to ask about your tribe's tattoo tradition rather than asking me.

2. People who have Indian heritage but no actual connection with their ancestors' tribe are often wrong about their ancestors' tribal affiliation! (You wouldn't believe how many people have been looking for an impossible-to-locate Cherokee great-grandmother, only to find that they'd wasted years bcause she was actually Assiniboine and everyone just called her Cherokee because they'd never heard of the Assiniboines.)

3. You should assume that getting a tattoo will be PERMANENT. Sometimes they can remove tattoos later (which is extremely expensive) but other times they can't remove them completely and you would still have a partial tattoo or a permanent scar. So if you get a tattoo, plan on keeping it.

Now, combine these three things. Say you're a young man who really wants to connect with your grandmother's people, really want to make that a part of your life, so you get an elaborate Cherokee facial tattoo. Then you find out she was really Assiniboine. Sorry to put it this way, but you're screwed. A lot of Indians are skeptical of young non-Indians rediscovering Indian roots anyway, think they're not very serious. You think the Assiniboines are going to accept you as one of them when you have Cherokee tattoos all over your face. (In Sioux cultures men don't even tattoo their faces, only women do, so you'll look like an idiot going over and claiming to be related to them.)

Now if you have a tribal identity already--you belong to a tribe, or you have third cousins who do and you visit them every year, or something like that--then great, go for it, worse that happens is you get old and fat and the tattoo doesn't look good anymore like the one I got in the army. But if you are looking for a tribal identity, and you would maybe like to be accepted as a mixed-blood Indian someday, or at least you don't want actual Indians to laugh at you when you introduce yourself, please do yourself a favor and hold off on the Native American tattoos until you are actually affiliated with the tribe in question. Use your common sense: if American Indian tattoos were originally used as a form of permanent tribal identification, then putting on the wrong tattoo will permanently mark you as an outsider. Do you really want to risk that? For that matter, even putting on a correct tattoo from a tribe you've never even been to visit will pretty much mark you as a poser (just like putting on army tattooes when you've never been a soldier would).

In other words, if you have to ask a stranger about it over the Internet, you probably really do not want to be getting a Native American tribal tattoo. You run the risk of achieving exactly the opposite effect from the one you were hoping for: distancing yourself from your people, or even mis-honoring an ancestor. Tread carefully there.

But What If I Want A Native American Tattoo Anyway?
When I first put this page up some years ago, most of the tattoo-related email I received was from mixed-blood people wishing to get traditional tribal tattoos to honor their native ancestors and feel closer to their native heritage. It is these people that my previous advice is intended for (and judging from their responses, it has been appreciated.) However, since that time tribal tattoo art has apparently really hit the mainstream, and now I get a lot of frustrated email from other people--young people who are not that interested in reconnecting with their specific Indian roots, or indeed do not have any at all. "Look," they say, "I just want to get a cool looking tattoo that shows my respect for Native Americans in general. I don't really care which tribe it's from. I don't need warnings--don't you have any suggestions?"

Well, you're going to have a hard time getting an authentically traditional Native American tribal tattoo if you really don't belong to a Native American community at all, but here are some ideas which may be interesting to you if you are in this situation:

1) You could get a tribal tattoo design created by a contemporary Native American artist. I know of one Cherokee artist, Ken Masters, who has pictures of a few tribal tattoos designed by him available on his website for free. You could also browse through our directory of Native American artists, particularly the native paintings, because some of the other artists may design tattoo art on commission.

2) Cherokee and Cree both have unique writing systems, and you could use lettering from one of those scripts as a tattoo design. These are syllabaries, not alphabets, which means that each Cherokee or Cree character represents one syllable. You could use the first syllable in your name or your girlfriend's name or something like that. Here are pictures of all the characters in Cherokee and Cree. You can also download a free Windows font of Cherokee letters here.

3) You could use a word from a Native American language as a tattoo design. This isn't traditional in any tribe that I know of, but in recent times some young Indian guys have started doing it, especially with their names, family or clan names, a kinship term, or an animal they feel a connection with. Anything that gets the young people more interested in our languages is a good new tradition as far as I'm concerned. You can use a dictionary to find the word for your favorite animal or the kinship term for a family member you'd like to honor. Here's our Amerindian directory, where we have links to online dictionaries and other resources in various Indian languages. If you'd like a word like this but don't want to track one down yourself, our Native American language organization is currently doing a fundraiser to provide Native American names for people's dogs, and we could also provide translations of an animal or kinship word in several different native languages. Here's a form you can fill out if you're interested in that.

4) You could adapt a traditional symbol or design from Native American art into a tattoo picture. There are plenty of good books with pictures of Native American designs and symbols, including Indian Designs, American Indian Design and Decoration, Indian Art of the Northwest Coast, Art of the Northwest Coast Indians, Images in Stone: Southwest Rock Art, Tribal Design Motifs of Ancient Mexico, and Designs from Pre-Columbian Mexico. You can probably find a book of Native American art designs in your local library.

5) You could use the tribal seal or flag of a Native American nation as a tattoo design. If you're really sure which tribe grandma belonged to, this might be the option for you. Here is a really nice site with pictures of almost all the tribal flags in the United States and some of the Canadian ones: Native American Flags.

Hope one of those might be the idea you are looking for.

Further reading:
Sorry, but I do not know of any website or book dedicated to native tattoo traditions in different Indian tribes. Here are some authentic resources that might be helpful to you if you are interested in traditional tribal tattoos:

 This book, The World of Tattoo, has detailed information about tribal tattoo art around the world, including a chapter on American Indian tattoos. Plenty of tattoo pictures in this book.

 The Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume discusses hairstyles, clothing and ornamentation among various native peoples during various historical periods, including a sentence or two on native tattoo art in each tribe.

 The book How To Make Cherokee Clothing has a lot of accurate information about Cherokee tribal tattoos and body art in it, as well as clothing styles.

 A good book on Native American artwork in general, Native North American Art, contains sections on tribal tattoos; though those sections are small, the rest of the book may be interesting to you too.

 The Encyclopedia of North American Indians has an online article on Native American Tattooing Methods.

 Cherokee Tattoos includes history and pictures of Indian tribal tattoo art as well as contemporary tattoo designs by a Cherokee artist.

 Plains Cree Clothing includes descriptions and drawings of Cree tribal tattoos (scroll down the page to see them).

 If you are interested in native tattoos from a cultural perspective, you might like to browse through old pictures of American Indian people, such as the Curtis Collection, the National Archives Collection of American Indian pictures, and Images of Canada's Aboriginal Peoples. Many of the individuals in these public-domain photos wear tattoos or body art, so you can get an idea of what American Indian tattoos looked like. (Obviously, I recommend against trying to copy a tattoo from a century-old sepia photograph onto your own arms, both for cultural reasons and practical.)

 If you have a particular tribe in mind you can also try looking in our list of American Indian tribes--we have collected pages of historical photographs for several tribes, as well as links about tribal art, and these may also help you.

 Finally, if you are more interested in tribal designs than in American Indian tattooing in particular, there are several good books illustrating the traditional artistry, symbols and designs of native people. Among them are Indian Art of the Northwest Coast and Art of the Northwest Coast Indians; Images in Stone: Southwest Rock Art; Tribal Design Motifs of Ancient Mexico and Designs from Pre-Columbian Mexico; and Indian Designs and American Indian Design and Decoration.

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