Releases | New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs

MIAC Lecture Explores Pictorial Traditions of the Kiowa During Period of Radical Change in Plains Indian Life and Culture

February 16th, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 16, 2017, (Santa Fe, N.M.)  Around the turn of the century, the Kiowa people experienced a radical shift from a buffalo hunting society to resettlement in individual family allotments in southwest Oklahoma. Silver Horn (1860-1940), a ledger artist of exceptional talent, illustrated Kiowa life and culture during this time of change. Perspectives on the Hugh Scott Ledger Book by Silver Horn explores the relationship between the Kiowa storytelling tradition and narrative form.  Captain Hugh Scott commissioned Silver Horn to produce a series of drawings that illustrated Kiowa stories for his intended volume on Kiowa tales. This rare ledger book is now a treasured part of the MIAC permanent collection.  A selection of Silver Horn’s original drawings will be on view during the March 11, 2017 lecture featuring perspectives from noted Kiowa tribal historian and storyteller, Dorothy White Horse Delaune, and Dr. Candace Greene, a specialist in plains pictorial traditions. The lecture will take place from 10:00am to 12:00pm at the Kathryn O’Keeffe Theater at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.

Offering a personal perspective on Kiowa storytelling traditions, Dorothy White Horse Delaune, will share experiences from her childhood in the Redstone Kiowa community. Dr. Candace Greene will place the expressive style and content of the Hugh Scott ledger book into the broader context of Silver Horn’s larger body of work. Greene will also address the relationship between oral and visual narrative forms and their function within traditional Kiowa representational systems. Original drawings from the ledger book will be discussed. 

“It is important to have public programs that bring together masterworks from MIAC’s collections, leading scholars in the field and tribal community experts,” said Della Warrior, Director of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. “Exploring a significant art work in depth creates a rich interpretive experience for the visitor.”

Lecture is free with museum admission. Youth sixteen and under and Museum of New Mexico Foundation Members are always free.

Dorothy WhiteHorse Delaune (Kiowa) was born in 1933 in a tipi in the community of Hog Creek, west of Anadarko, Oklahoma. A greatly respected tribal historian and storyteller, Dorothy comes from a long line of distinguished Kiowa leaders. Her father, White Horse, is the grandson of Dohasan, the great Kiowa leader serving from 1833-1866.  Her mother, Laura WhiteHorse, is the granddaughter of Mamanti (Sky Walker).  Dorothy is a charter member of the Ohoma Society and the Black Leggings Society. She is also a member of the Kiowa War Mothers Chapter 18, the Kateri Circle of St. Patrick’s Indian Mission and the Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women. 

Dr. Candace Greene’s research focuses on Native North American art and material culture, especially Plains Indian drawings. Greene has worked principally with Kiowa and Cheyenne people in understanding materials from those communities and making them more accessible to tribal members. More broadly, she is interested in the anthropology of museum collections, considering what the process of museumification does to objects and information. In more than 20 years at the Smithsonian, she has worked on a variety of projects to promote access, preservation, and research use of the collections, ranging from physical care to intellectual access.  She is the author of Silver Horn: Master Illustrator of the Kiowas.

# # #

Untitled (Deer, man and stream) by Silver Horn

New Mexico CulturePass

Your ticket to New Mexico's exceptional Museums and Historic Sites.
From Indian treasures to space exploration, world-class folk art to awesome dinosaurs—our museums and monuments celebrate the essence of New Mexico every day.
More Info »

The wallet size version of the CulturePass showing the $30 price
An animated image of a cell phone showing various topics presented in the Encounter Culture podcast

Encounter Culture

Take a look inside the museums and historic sites of New Mexico without leaving home. Join host Charlotte Jusinski, and a variety of guest curators, artists, and exhibitors in exploring the art and culture of the state in Encounter Culture, a new podcast from the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.

Logo and Link to Google Podcasts Logo and Link to Apple Podcasts Logo and Link to Spotify Podcasts

Featured DCA Exhibitions

A photo featuring items representing the Setting the Standard: The Fred Harvey Company and Its Legacy exhibition

Setting the Standard: The Fred Harvey Company and Its Legacy

Setting the Standard: The Fred Harvey Company and Its Legacy, in the New Mexico History Museum’s main exhibit,
more »

A photo featuring items representing the The Santos of New Mexico exhibition

The Santos of New Mexico

As part of our Highlights from the Collection: The Larry and Alyce Frank Collection of Santos (saints), in the Palace
more »

A photo featuring items representing the Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now exhibition

Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now

Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now sweeps across more than 500 years of history—from the state’s
more »

A photo featuring items representing the Segesser Hide Paintings exhibition

Segesser Hide Paintings

Though the source of the Segesser Hide Paintings is obscure, their significance cannot be clearer: the hides are rare
more »