Chief Deskaheh with gahsdó:waˀ
Photograph from the collection of Deskaheh’s nephew, Cleveland General Exhibition print
Courtesy of Richard Hill (Tuscarora Nation), Six Nations, 2019
©Richard Hill
One of the challenges Indigenous people grapple with is confronting many stereotypes about identity, actions, speech, and attire. European authors and scholars, including Karl May and Joseph-François Lafitau, shaped the perceptions non-Indigenous people held about Indigenous communities.
Deskaheh likely encountered this, and it may explain why in many of his photographs he is seen wearing a War Bonnet, even though it isn’t a Hodinohsho:ni headdress. H. George

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