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Primary sourcePhotograph1884

Sitting Bull Cabinet Card

David F. Barry · 1884

A cabinet card photograph of Sitting Bull taken by D. F. Barry in Bismarck, Dakota Territory, in 1884.

A studio portrait of Sitting Bull taken during his years living on a reservation in Dakota Territory.

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Black-and-white studio portrait of a middle-aged man seated before a plain backdrop, wearing two upright feathers in his hair, long braids over his shoulders, and a patterned long-sleeved shirt with a buttoned collar. He looks directly at the camera.
David F. Barry, Sitting Bull, 1884. Cabinet card.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white cabinet card photograph taken in 1884 by David F. Barry in Bismarck, Dakota Territory. It shows a seated man wearing two upright feathers in his hair and long braids, dressed in a patterned, buttoned shirt, looking directly at the camera.

Why it matters

The sitter is Sitting Bull, photographed during the period he lived on a reservation after his years of resistance against the United States military. Cabinet cards like this one were a common photographic format of the era, often collected or sold, showing how Sitting Bull's image circulated publicly.

Look closer

  • What does Sitting Bull's direct gaze at the camera suggest about how he wanted to be seen, or was told to pose?
  • Why might a photographer have traveled to Dakota Territory to take this picture?
  • What does the plain backdrop tell you about the setting of the photograph?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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