Poor Bull, identified by inscription as Tatanka Tamaheca of the Oglala Lakota, is depicted in full profile in this large approximately 9 X 12 halftone photograph as found in a 14 X 17.75 frame, copyright 1900 by Herman Heyn of Omaha, Nebraska, and published by Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. Heyn was an active commercial photographer in Omaha during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who produced numerous portraits of Native American subjects, many of whom visited the city during this era. The image is presented framed and carries catalog number 1063.
The subject stands between two large cottonwood trees, extending a tomahawk toward the left tree with his right hand. He wears a light satin-like shirt, dark trousers with fur-trimmed cuffs at the ankle, and a dark blanket draped over his left shoulder and arm with a white stripe along its edge. Two feathers rise from his hair, and he is shown in strong profile with facial paint or marking visible on his cheek.
The Oglala Lakota are one of the seven bands of the Teton Sioux, whose homelands centered in present-day South Dakota. The lower left of the image bears a handwritten inscription reading "Tatanka Tamaheca (Poor Bull)."
The image face reads "Published by Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co." and "1063 Copyright 1900 by Heyn Photo Omaha."
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