Indians with Umbrellas

As a Native person brought up in non-Native circumstances, Fritz Scholder was well positioned to challenge stereotypical depictions of Native Americans by Euro-American culture. Scholder’s work reflects his own conflicted emotions regarding his Native heritage by contesting romanticized notions of “Indianism” in both the Native and non-Native communities. Here, the tight row of Native American men on horseback suggests a military encounter straight out of a cowboy Western movie. But they’ve left behind the predictable eagle staffs and warbonnets and instead carry umbrellas, mimicking the parasol etiquette of the European elite around 1900.