Ledger Art - Subject Matter

Subject Matter

Battle exploits dominated ledger art. Other traditional themes such as hunting, courtship, and religious practices were common subjects. Ledger artists also documented their rapidly changing environment by portraying encroaching European Americans and new technologies such as trains and cameras. Many ledger artists worked with ethnologists, by documenting shield and tipi designs, ethnobotanical information, winter counts, dance customs and regalia, and other cultural information. Dreams and visions inspired ledger art just as they had inspired earlier hide paintings.

The artists creating ledger art today often reference pre-reservation lifeways, historical transitions, sand social commentary. They use this style to illustrate cultural continuity between historical and contemporary Native life.