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My Life Among the Indians
George Catlin spent eight years living among and learning from Native Americans of the Great Plains and the Far West.
Over the course of five trips he took in the 1830s and 1840s he came to encounter fifty different tribes, including the Pawnee, Omaha, and Ponca in the south and the Mandan, Cheyenne, Crow, Assiniboine, and Blackfeet to the north.
During these expeditions he came to learn a great deal about the culture and customs of the various tribes.
My Life among the Indians records the ways of the life of these rapidly vanishing indigenous populations. He spoke with and recorded the thoughts and acts of their leaders, warriors, medicine men, as well as their women and children.
Catlin provides insight into various Native American tribes; how they lived, what they ate, where they slept, how they played and enjoyed themselves, as well as how they worshipped. He demonstrates not only the similarities that were apparent between all the tribes, but also their huge differences that could sometimes lead to tensions.
“His task was to rescue ‘from oblivion the looks and customs of the vanishing races of native men in America,’ a task to which he dedicated his life and his energies. This volume helps us to appreciate the significance of the cause — and the varied achievements of a remarkable man who accepted his own challenge.” James T. Forrest, The Western Historical Quarterly
This work was derived from his much larger work, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs and Condition of the North American Indians that he wrote while exploring the Far West, but as a readable overview of Native American life in the mid-nineteenth century My Life among the Indians cannot be surpassed.
George Catlin was an American author and traveler who was particularly famous for his portraits of Native Americans in the Old West. Travelling to the American West five times during the 1830s, Catlin was the first white man to depict Plains Indians in their native territory. His book My Life among the Indians was posthumously published in 1909 and Catlin passed in 1872.
Over the course of five trips he took in the 1830s and 1840s he came to encounter fifty different tribes, including the Pawnee, Omaha, and Ponca in the south and the Mandan, Cheyenne, Crow, Assiniboine, and Blackfeet to the north.
During these expeditions he came to learn a great deal about the culture and customs of the various tribes.
My Life among the Indians records the ways of the life of these rapidly vanishing indigenous populations. He spoke with and recorded the thoughts and acts of their leaders, warriors, medicine men, as well as their women and children.
Catlin provides insight into various Native American tribes; how they lived, what they ate, where they slept, how they played and enjoyed themselves, as well as how they worshipped. He demonstrates not only the similarities that were apparent between all the tribes, but also their huge differences that could sometimes lead to tensions.
“His task was to rescue ‘from oblivion the looks and customs of the vanishing races of native men in America,’ a task to which he dedicated his life and his energies. This volume helps us to appreciate the significance of the cause — and the varied achievements of a remarkable man who accepted his own challenge.” James T. Forrest, The Western Historical Quarterly
This work was derived from his much larger work, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs and Condition of the North American Indians that he wrote while exploring the Far West, but as a readable overview of Native American life in the mid-nineteenth century My Life among the Indians cannot be surpassed.
George Catlin was an American author and traveler who was particularly famous for his portraits of Native Americans in the Old West. Travelling to the American West five times during the 1830s, Catlin was the first white man to depict Plains Indians in their native territory. His book My Life among the Indians was posthumously published in 1909 and Catlin passed in 1872.
311 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1909
337 people are currently reading
528 people want to read
About the author
George Catlin
307 books21 followersGeorge Catlin (July 26, 1796 – December 23, 1872) was an American painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the Old West.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 5, 2018
I really enjoyed reading this book. I found the fact that this book was written about 175 years ago. The amount of descriptive detail is astounding. The authors first hand account and observations is excellent. I also agree with his analysis of how our country and our government has treated the original occupants of this great land. If you are interested in "real Indian stories" this is the book for you. Read it.
July 6, 2019
A must read for those who want a true and sympathetic portrait of the early Native Americans.
February 17, 2024
This book was amazing! What can I possibly say that hasn’t been already said? The details and descriptions of their lives were first rate. The Indians in this book honored and respected the author. One tribe went so far as to make him an honorary member.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2018
Fine and intelligent treatment
Catlin was a man of high character who saw indian life of the early 1800 like few others. As they submitted to his brush and canvas, so much was learned by him, of them. He married a mandan yet criused the west in persuit subjects that fill our galleries today. See you in heaven George!
Catlin was a man of high character who saw indian life of the early 1800 like few others. As they submitted to his brush and canvas, so much was learned by him, of them. He married a mandan yet criused the west in persuit subjects that fill our galleries today. See you in heaven George!
December 28, 2022
George Catlin was an American lawyer and artist who spent eight years living among the Native Americans of the Great Plains and the far west. He came to encounter 50 different tribes during these expeditions in the 1830s and 1840s and came to learn a great deal about the culture and customs of the various tribes.
The tribes of the Great Plains lived in nature with the least knowledge of civilised society. They lived in a country where it was not necessary to look into the future with concern and where their faculties and inclinations were solely directed toward the present day. They were free from the many cares and jealousies of the more mercenary world.
The buffalo provided for Native Americans flesh for food and skins, horns, hooves and bones for their shields, wigwam and tools. They did not hunted deer, elk or antelope unless a skin was wanted for clothing. The plains afforded the Indians an abundance of wild in horses, which were easily procured. Riding on their backs at full speed, they could come alongside of any animal that would be easily hunted down. They were armed with small bows, apparently insignificant weapons, though one of great and almost incredible power in the hands of its owner. An Indian mounted on a well-trained horse with his bow in hand and his quiver (containing as many as 100 arrows) could throw 1 arrow every 3 to 4 seconds, at a range of about 200 yards (180 meters).
Wild horses were found in great numbers on the prairies. These horses were of small stature but very hardy and tough. They were taken by the Indians with a lasso and tamed in converted to their own use. Horses greatly increased human mobility and productivity in the region. The man who had many horses could use this wealth for a variety of purposes, such as offering them as bride-wealth, or trading them for other materials.
The Native American "medicine bag" was a container for items believed to protect or give spiritual powers to its owner. The medicine bag was a mystery bag representing a person’s spiritual life and its contents were meant to be kept secret by the owner. The value of a medicine bag to the Indian was beyond all price (for to sell it or give it away would subject him for such signal disgrace in his tribe that he could never rise above it). Indians would carry their medicine bag into battle for protection. The medicine bag came about in a curious manner: Boys at the age of 14 or 15 years of age were said to be making or forming “their medicine”. They would wander away from his father’s lodge and would absent themselves for the space of 2 to 3 days, lying on the ground in some remote secluded spot, crying to the Great Spirit and fasting the whole time. During this period of peril and abstinence, when they would fall asleep the first animal, bird or reptile of which he would dream, he would consider his mysterious protector through life. He would then procure the animal or bird, the skin of which he would preserve and ornament and would carry with him through life for good luck. It is his strength in battle and his guardian spirit.
Marriage was an economic institution. It was not consummated without the necessary presents to the father. Indian societies were egalitarian and women were not owned by men. Marriage was not seen as permanent; divorce was a private matter among the people involved. Polygamy was permitted among the Native American tribes.
Tribes like the Mandans, one of the oldest tribes in the country, didn’t bury the dead whenever a person died. After customary honours were paid, the body was dressed in its best attire, painted, oiled and supplied with bow and quiver, shield, pipe and tobacco, and knife. Then a scaffold consisting of four upright posts was constructed. When the scaffolds decayed and fell to the ground, the closest relatives would bury the other bones and would take the skulls which were bleached and purified and placed in circles on the prairie. Each wife knew the skull of her husband or child. They would often visit the skull of the relatives and would talk affectionately to them.
Native American Indians could all swim. They learnt at a very early age and enabled even the women and children to plunge into and swim across the turbulent streams.
Native American had luxuries like the vapour bath, of which each village had several. They were public and accessible to all ages and both sexes. They were also used by the sick as a remedy for nearly all the disease which are known among them. Built by the river, water was poured over scalding stones and the lodge would be shut perfectly tight.
Tribes like the Mandans ate pemmican (dried meat) and marrow fat. The first was made of buffalo meat dried very hard and afterwards pounded until it was very fine. Marrow fat was collected from buffalo bones. It was boiled out and put into buffalo bladders for preservation. When the fat cooled, it was hard as tallow. They also grew corn, pumpkins and squashes and collected turnip and wild berries, which grew in abundance in the region. The buffalo meat was however the great staple. Buffalo meat was cured and dried in the sun, for several days, without the aid of smoke or salt. Mandans had no regular or stated times for their meals, but generally ate twice a day. Every man, woman or child in Indian communities was allowed to enter anyone’s lodge and eat when they were hungry. The Mandans, like all other tribes, sat at their meals cross legged and ate on the floor.
Indians practised great prudence and self-denial. Every kind of excess was avoided. The most painful abstinence was forced upon themselves for the purpose of preparing their bodies.
The Mandan tribe suspended young warriors in an annual rite of passage ceremony that celebrated the creation of the earth. The Okipa ceremony, as it was called, required initiates to fast and hold vigil for four days, then dance, and lastly perform trials of endurance. The warriors-to-be had to prove their strength to their elders and the spirits. The young men were suspended from the roof of the tribe's lodge by ropes attached to skewers in their chest, back or shoulders. To increase the pain, weights were attached to their legs. Cries of agony were considered cowardly. The warriors would faint and were brought down to be watched over by the men who presided over the ceremony. When an initiate woke up, it signified the spirits' approval. The new initiates then had their left pinky removed with a hatchet (as an offering to the Great Spirit), and finished the ceremony by racing around the village in a race called "the last race”.
The custom of scalping was practised by all of the North American Indians. Scalping was done by passing the knife under the skin and removing a piece as large as the palm of a man’s hand. It was not an operation that destroyed life, since it was done without injury to the bone. Among plains Indians scalps were taken for war honours, often from live victims. As among the Indians there was no historian to preserve the heroic deeds of those who had gained their laurels in battle, scalps were preserved as trophies. Scalps were kept as a glorious record of service to the tribe.
The calumet or “pipe of peace” was a sacred pipe ornamented with war eagle’s quills. It was a sacred pipe and never allowed to be used on any other occasion than that of peacemaking. It is mutually smoked by the chiefs after the terms of the treaty are agreed upon as a means of solemnising or signing peace. The calumet was used to ratify alliances and to attest contracts and treaties. Even among the most primitive tribes the white flag was always the flag of truce and was inviolable.
The teeth of the Indians were generally regular and sound and wonderfully preserved to old age. Indian women would press the lips of their child together as it fell asleep. And swung its cradle in the open air. The consequence of this was the most beautiful mouths. The Native American Indian often smiled but rarely laughed. He met most of the emotions of life however, sudden or exciting, with his mouth closed (and therefore always breathing through the nose).
Each Native American tribe was typically headed by a chief (war an civil). These chiefs would hold their offices only as long as their ages enabled them to perform the duties by taking the lead in war parties. After that the chief would devolve upon the next incumbent, who would be the eldest son of the chief, provided he was as worthy of it as any other young man in the tribe. If he was not worthy, a chief was elected from among the sub-chiefs. The chief had no control over the life or liberty of his subjects. In fact, he was no more than a leader that every young warrior may follow.
Native American tribes had no laws (written or otherwise) save the penalties attached to certain crimes by long-standing custom or by the decisions of the chiefs in council. In their treatment of prisoners, they were in the habit of inflicting cruel tortures, but these were always only in retaliation for similar treatment.
Indians easily acquired a taste for whiskey and for it they stripped of the last buffalo of its skin to trade with the white man. Buffalo tongue was considered the ultimate delicacy and it was served in huge quantities at the finest restaurants in the nation.
The tribes of the Great Plains lived in nature with the least knowledge of civilised society. They lived in a country where it was not necessary to look into the future with concern and where their faculties and inclinations were solely directed toward the present day. They were free from the many cares and jealousies of the more mercenary world.
The buffalo provided for Native Americans flesh for food and skins, horns, hooves and bones for their shields, wigwam and tools. They did not hunted deer, elk or antelope unless a skin was wanted for clothing. The plains afforded the Indians an abundance of wild in horses, which were easily procured. Riding on their backs at full speed, they could come alongside of any animal that would be easily hunted down. They were armed with small bows, apparently insignificant weapons, though one of great and almost incredible power in the hands of its owner. An Indian mounted on a well-trained horse with his bow in hand and his quiver (containing as many as 100 arrows) could throw 1 arrow every 3 to 4 seconds, at a range of about 200 yards (180 meters).
Wild horses were found in great numbers on the prairies. These horses were of small stature but very hardy and tough. They were taken by the Indians with a lasso and tamed in converted to their own use. Horses greatly increased human mobility and productivity in the region. The man who had many horses could use this wealth for a variety of purposes, such as offering them as bride-wealth, or trading them for other materials.
The Native American "medicine bag" was a container for items believed to protect or give spiritual powers to its owner. The medicine bag was a mystery bag representing a person’s spiritual life and its contents were meant to be kept secret by the owner. The value of a medicine bag to the Indian was beyond all price (for to sell it or give it away would subject him for such signal disgrace in his tribe that he could never rise above it). Indians would carry their medicine bag into battle for protection. The medicine bag came about in a curious manner: Boys at the age of 14 or 15 years of age were said to be making or forming “their medicine”. They would wander away from his father’s lodge and would absent themselves for the space of 2 to 3 days, lying on the ground in some remote secluded spot, crying to the Great Spirit and fasting the whole time. During this period of peril and abstinence, when they would fall asleep the first animal, bird or reptile of which he would dream, he would consider his mysterious protector through life. He would then procure the animal or bird, the skin of which he would preserve and ornament and would carry with him through life for good luck. It is his strength in battle and his guardian spirit.
Marriage was an economic institution. It was not consummated without the necessary presents to the father. Indian societies were egalitarian and women were not owned by men. Marriage was not seen as permanent; divorce was a private matter among the people involved. Polygamy was permitted among the Native American tribes.
Tribes like the Mandans, one of the oldest tribes in the country, didn’t bury the dead whenever a person died. After customary honours were paid, the body was dressed in its best attire, painted, oiled and supplied with bow and quiver, shield, pipe and tobacco, and knife. Then a scaffold consisting of four upright posts was constructed. When the scaffolds decayed and fell to the ground, the closest relatives would bury the other bones and would take the skulls which were bleached and purified and placed in circles on the prairie. Each wife knew the skull of her husband or child. They would often visit the skull of the relatives and would talk affectionately to them.
Native American Indians could all swim. They learnt at a very early age and enabled even the women and children to plunge into and swim across the turbulent streams.
Native American had luxuries like the vapour bath, of which each village had several. They were public and accessible to all ages and both sexes. They were also used by the sick as a remedy for nearly all the disease which are known among them. Built by the river, water was poured over scalding stones and the lodge would be shut perfectly tight.
Tribes like the Mandans ate pemmican (dried meat) and marrow fat. The first was made of buffalo meat dried very hard and afterwards pounded until it was very fine. Marrow fat was collected from buffalo bones. It was boiled out and put into buffalo bladders for preservation. When the fat cooled, it was hard as tallow. They also grew corn, pumpkins and squashes and collected turnip and wild berries, which grew in abundance in the region. The buffalo meat was however the great staple. Buffalo meat was cured and dried in the sun, for several days, without the aid of smoke or salt. Mandans had no regular or stated times for their meals, but generally ate twice a day. Every man, woman or child in Indian communities was allowed to enter anyone’s lodge and eat when they were hungry. The Mandans, like all other tribes, sat at their meals cross legged and ate on the floor.
Indians practised great prudence and self-denial. Every kind of excess was avoided. The most painful abstinence was forced upon themselves for the purpose of preparing their bodies.
The Mandan tribe suspended young warriors in an annual rite of passage ceremony that celebrated the creation of the earth. The Okipa ceremony, as it was called, required initiates to fast and hold vigil for four days, then dance, and lastly perform trials of endurance. The warriors-to-be had to prove their strength to their elders and the spirits. The young men were suspended from the roof of the tribe's lodge by ropes attached to skewers in their chest, back or shoulders. To increase the pain, weights were attached to their legs. Cries of agony were considered cowardly. The warriors would faint and were brought down to be watched over by the men who presided over the ceremony. When an initiate woke up, it signified the spirits' approval. The new initiates then had their left pinky removed with a hatchet (as an offering to the Great Spirit), and finished the ceremony by racing around the village in a race called "the last race”.
The custom of scalping was practised by all of the North American Indians. Scalping was done by passing the knife under the skin and removing a piece as large as the palm of a man’s hand. It was not an operation that destroyed life, since it was done without injury to the bone. Among plains Indians scalps were taken for war honours, often from live victims. As among the Indians there was no historian to preserve the heroic deeds of those who had gained their laurels in battle, scalps were preserved as trophies. Scalps were kept as a glorious record of service to the tribe.
The calumet or “pipe of peace” was a sacred pipe ornamented with war eagle’s quills. It was a sacred pipe and never allowed to be used on any other occasion than that of peacemaking. It is mutually smoked by the chiefs after the terms of the treaty are agreed upon as a means of solemnising or signing peace. The calumet was used to ratify alliances and to attest contracts and treaties. Even among the most primitive tribes the white flag was always the flag of truce and was inviolable.
The teeth of the Indians were generally regular and sound and wonderfully preserved to old age. Indian women would press the lips of their child together as it fell asleep. And swung its cradle in the open air. The consequence of this was the most beautiful mouths. The Native American Indian often smiled but rarely laughed. He met most of the emotions of life however, sudden or exciting, with his mouth closed (and therefore always breathing through the nose).
Each Native American tribe was typically headed by a chief (war an civil). These chiefs would hold their offices only as long as their ages enabled them to perform the duties by taking the lead in war parties. After that the chief would devolve upon the next incumbent, who would be the eldest son of the chief, provided he was as worthy of it as any other young man in the tribe. If he was not worthy, a chief was elected from among the sub-chiefs. The chief had no control over the life or liberty of his subjects. In fact, he was no more than a leader that every young warrior may follow.
Native American tribes had no laws (written or otherwise) save the penalties attached to certain crimes by long-standing custom or by the decisions of the chiefs in council. In their treatment of prisoners, they were in the habit of inflicting cruel tortures, but these were always only in retaliation for similar treatment.
Indians easily acquired a taste for whiskey and for it they stripped of the last buffalo of its skin to trade with the white man. Buffalo tongue was considered the ultimate delicacy and it was served in huge quantities at the finest restaurants in the nation.
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May 16, 2022Fantastic travelogue and account of Indian life
I adored this book and its author. Carlin was a man of integrity with a worthy vision to paint as many Indian peoples as he was able before their cultures evaporated. He traveled throughout North & South America with interpreters to accomplish the magnificent feat to visit and live among over 100 tribes. His observations are so insightful, and he writes in the delightful, eloquent and witty style of Mark Twain. The masterful paintings shared here are a bonus... I thoroughly enjoyed reading of his true adventures in the early to mid 1800`s.
I adored this book and its author. Carlin was a man of integrity with a worthy vision to paint as many Indian peoples as he was able before their cultures evaporated. He traveled throughout North & South America with interpreters to accomplish the magnificent feat to visit and live among over 100 tribes. His observations are so insightful, and he writes in the delightful, eloquent and witty style of Mark Twain. The masterful paintings shared here are a bonus... I thoroughly enjoyed reading of his true adventures in the early to mid 1800`s.
September 20, 2024
Such a fascinating look into the past, written in the early 1800s by a white painter about his experiences with and admiration for the indigenous peoples he encountered. I believe he met with 49 tribes across the U.S. while the author was not blind to what was happening to the peoples, he honored their ways as being community focused and respectful of the earth and its inhabitants.
March 1, 2020
Great book about an important subject.
Here are first hand experiences from a nan that was ahead of his time. One of the few books that give an accurate and positive assessment of Indians in early America.
Here are first hand experiences from a nan that was ahead of his time. One of the few books that give an accurate and positive assessment of Indians in early America.
May 29, 2020
George Catlin, his life among the Indians
George Carlin tells his history among the Native Americans. He describes there culture candidly and gives a vivid portrait of their lives. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in United States history.
George Carlin tells his history among the Native Americans. He describes there culture candidly and gives a vivid portrait of their lives. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in United States history.
May 21, 2024
A non-fiction book, written about George Catlin's famous Indian painting artist) life among various Plaines Indians around 1800-1820. Not what a person would call an entertaining read but was very interesting and informative of historical customs, dances, living conditions, etc.
March 31, 2018
Enjoyable
Chose this book as a whim . but wasn't sorry or disappointed . north and south america Indians. Culture of theirs
Chose this book as a whim . but wasn't sorry or disappointed . north and south america Indians. Culture of theirs
April 19, 2019
True western
Interesting book of time. After the Civil War . Enjoy Westerns you will like this book. Appeared to be accurate and authentic .
Interesting book of time. After the Civil War . Enjoy Westerns you will like this book. Appeared to be accurate and authentic .
February 23, 2025
Great book! Such a wonderful piece of history!
January 3, 2018
George Catlin was a most notable painter of Indians and Indian life in first half of the 19th Century. Traveling from St. Louis up the Missouri to what is now Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, he visited all the major tribes: Sioux; Cheyenne; Sacs; Crow; Blackfeet; Mandan; Omaha; Iowa's; Assiniboin; Osage; Arikara, and many others. His paintings were considered "big medicine" by the tribes and every chief wanted his portrait painted by Catlin. He captures in words and pictures what life on the frontier was like in the 1840's, especially buffalo culture and indian rituals and warfare.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews