Two powerful and richly detailed cabinet card portraits taken in the 1870s by Fort Sill photographer W.P. Bliss, showing two young Kiowa women—identified in period pencil as the daughters of Chief Stumbling Bear. Each sitter wears exquisite traditional dress, adorned with shell or bone ornaments and long beaded accessories, their hair worn in tightly braided plaits with decorative hair wraps. The girls are posed in front of painted studio backdrops depicting a river valley and treeline—visual choices likely meant to evoke the Plains landscape of their Kiowa homeland.

Both images were produced in Fort Sill, Indian Territory, during a time of enormous transition and hardship for the Kiowa people. Stumbling Bear (circa 1828–1903), a prominent Kiowa chief and longtime U.S. Army scout, played a pivotal role during and after the Indian Wars, including negotiations with federal authorities. His likeness and those of his family were frequently sought by photographers like Bliss, who advertised “card photographs of noted Indians” for public consumption.

The backs of both cards bear Bliss’s ornate imprint, along with his printed sales pitch offering Indian portraits at $3 per dozen and camp views at $4. These portraits stand not only as rare and beautiful examples of early Native American photography, but as direct, humanizing records of an important leader’s family during a pivotal period in American and Native history.