Ko-mán-i-kin-o-haw, Little Whale, a Brave

About this artwork

Late in the autumn of 1830, George Catlin visited Washington, D.C., where he painted members of a delegation of Menominees from Michigan Territory. He described Little Whale as “a brave with his medicine-wand, his looking-glass, and scissors.” (Catlin, 1848 Catalogue, Catlin’s Indian Gallery, SAAM online exhibition)

Art Historical Context

In the autumn of 1830, artist George Catlin captured the dignified likeness of Ko-má n-i-kin-o-haw, known as Little Whale, a brave from the Menominee tribe of Michigan Territory. This 1831 oil painting emerged from Catlin's encounter with a Native American delegation visiting Washington, D.C., growing U.S. expansion westward. Catlin, a pioneering Romantic artist and ethnographer, devoted his career to portraying Indigenous peoples in their traditional regalia, creating an invaluable visual record before cultural disruptions intensified. Little Whale stands proudly with his medicine-wand—a sac...

About the Artist

George Catlin · 1796–1872

George Catlin (1796–1872), born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Putnam Catlin and Polly Sutton—who had been captured by Native Americans during the 1778 Battle of Wyoming—initially pursued a legal career. Trained at Litchfield Law School, he was admitted to the bar in 1819 but abandoned law after two years to study art in Philadelphia in 1823. Self-taught as a portraitist, Catlin quickly gained ...