The Newberry Library in Chicago, home to one of the largest collections of ledger art in the world, describes it as, “part of a long tradition of Native people documenting their history on their own terms. Ledger art is one way that some Native communities counter harmful stereotypes, reassert their cultural continuity and sovereignty, and emphasize connections through time.”
While ledger art refers literally to the drawings that Plains, Plateau, and Great Basin peoples began making on ledger paper in the latter part of the 19th century, its vitality is deeply rooted in Tribal practices of pictorially preserving oral histories—with petroglyphs and pictographs on rock walls and with paintings on animal hides. Only when the buffalo were being decimated, and tribes were being stripped of their nomadic way of life, did Indigenous stories begin making their way into ledger books.
Fast forward a hundred years and these story-drawings began to enter the discourse of American art, recognized for their cultural significance, refined aesthetics, and powerful individual expression. Ledger art became a symbol of resilience and the indefatigable human spirit; its practice was taken up by a new generation of Indigenous artists, expanded and diversified, and it continues to evolve today.
Drawing from the Maffet Ledger, unknown artist (Southern and Northern Cheyenne), ca. 1874-81.
"Bear River Massacre" by David Dragonfly, 2021.
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