Images Lost in Time: UM library unveils book of rare American Indian ledger art

Century-old images from a ledger found at UM's K. Ross Toole Archives

Library personnel at The University of Montana recently discovered a unique treasure while moving the collections of the K. Ross Toole Archives to new quarters. They came across a ledger book containing beautiful American Indian artwork estimated to be more than 100 years old.

Enclosed in an aging clothbound cover and created by an anonymous artist, the 18 color pencil sketches allow a rare glimpse into the life and culture of the Plains Indians.

Archives technician Teresa Hamann came across the ledger drawings when relocating valuable holdings to the library's new Archives and Special Collections complex. Looking through the fragile pages filled with colorful pictures of daily life and ceremonies, she knew the ledger was something special.

"Right away I thought the work was beautiful and had to be historically significant," she said. "But I didn't know how significant."

University Archivist Donna McCrea said Missoula resident Genevieve Prochnow donated the ledger to UM in 1962. She had inherited the ledger from her father, John S. Parke, who had acquired it while serving as an officer in the U.S. Army in South Dakota. During the winter of 1890-91, Parke was assistant adjutant general at Rosebud Agency, home to the Lakota Sioux.

McCrea said ledger art of this form generally dates from the 1860s to the 1890s, a time when Plains Indians were being relocated to government reservations. Native artists, sometimes paid for their work, would do artistic renderings in ledgers much as they had done on hides and other materials before paper was available.

To learn more about the ledger, library personnel consulted with UM's Native American studies and anthropology departments. McCrea also spoke with experts at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and at the Sicangu Cultural Heritage Center on the Rosebud Indian Reservation to ensure the content of the ledger was appropriate for display.

Because the ledger is unsigned, experts cannot be completely certain who the artist is, but they believe it is Walter Bone Shirt, a Rosebud Lakota known to have created commissioned art during this time period.

"The ledger has been appraised by two nationally recognized experts," said Frank D'Andraia, dean of Library Services. "Both individuals confirmed the ledger's authenticity and determined the value of the ledger drawings to be in excess of $250,000."

Marcella Cash, an archivist with the Rosebud Reservation's Lakota Archives and Historical Center, believes the Mansfield Library is providing a valuable service in making the book more widely available to the public.

"Although the ledger contains representations of traditional ceremonies, it is appropriately viewed as art that should be shared with the public," Cash said. "In doing so, the images are available to tribal members everywhere and may contribute to our efforts to continue our culture and religion."

McCrea said a limited number of academic libraries and museums possess ledger art. Several institutions in Great Plains states, such as the University of North Dakota, have Native American ledger drawings. More extensive collections are located at schools such as Yale University and Dartmouth College.

D'Andraia said UM's ledger drawings have been made available digitally and may be accessed through the Mansfield Library's Web page. The library also is planning a special exhibit on ledger art for fall 2005.