Carte de visite portrait of a Chippewa man attributed to the well-known firm Whitney & Zimmerman, active in St. Paul, Minnesota. The sitter wears a fur cap with upright feathers and has long braids extending over his chest. Draped across one shoulder is a wool trade blanket with a bold border stripe, and he holds what appears to be a short war club or traditional implement in his lap. His shirt is of frontier cloth, and a necklace of beads or shell buttons is visible around the neck.

Photographers Whitney & Zimmerman were prolific documentarians of Native Americans in the Great Lakes and Northern Plains regions during the last quarter of the 19th century. Their work captured the dress, bearing, and individuality of many tribal members, including this unnamed Chippewa warrior. Portraits such as this were sold as commercial images and remain significant visual records of Native identity in the period of forced cultural transition and reservation confinement.