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Primary sourceArtifact1888

Sitting Bull, North American Chief Cigarette Card

William S. Kimball & Company · 1888

A 1888 cigarette card by William S. Kimball & Company showing Sitting Bull as part of a series labeling Native leaders 'savage' chiefs.

This card shows Sitting Bull filtered through a racist commercial series common in his lifetime.

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Colored printed cigarette card showing a half-length portrait of a man with a feather in his hair, long dark hair, a red neckerchief with a round gold medallion, and fringed, beaded clothing. Caption below reads 'Sitting Bull' and 'North American Chief'.
William S. Kimball & Company, Sitting Bull, North American Chief, cigarette card (N189), 1888. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this source

What it is

This color cigarette card from 1888 was issued by William S. Kimball & Company as part of a series titled 'Savage and Semi-Barbarous Chiefs and Rulers.' It shows a half-length portrait of Sitting Bull with a feather, red neckerchief, medallion, and beaded fringed clothing, captioned 'Sitting Bull, North American Chief.' It is held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Why it matters

The title of the series this card belongs to shows the racist language commonly used to describe Native peoples at the time. Sitting Bull, a real political and spiritual leader, is reduced here to a marketing image built on stereotypes designed to sell cigarettes.

Look closer

  • What does the series title 'Savage and Semi-Barbarous Chiefs' tell you about attitudes in 1888?
  • How does the image's styling compare with how Sitting Bull might have wanted to be seen?
  • Why is it important to think about who made an image and why, before trusting what it shows?

This artifact 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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