Charlie Russell had great respect and affection for Native
Americans. For a period of time in 1885 he lived with the Blood Indians, a
branch of the Blackfeet nation. It was this experience that contributed to his knowledge of Blackfoot Americans that he could portray in his art.
Russell also was sorrowful because he knew first hand how
the country had treated Native Americans. In this 1914 letter to a friend, Russell
expressed his feelings with his drawing and with these words: “This is the only
real American. He fought and died for his country. To day he has no vote no
country and is not a citizen but history will not forget him”
Nancy Josephine Clark, granddaughter of Charlie Russell’s
Blackfoot model and close friend, planned to show the illustrated letter and
quote it during her presentation at the opening of the new exhibition at the
C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. She had found the letter among the
many that Russell illustrated and liked the sentiments it expressed. Nancy was
surprised to find that when she asked for a bag to carry some items that she
purchased at the museum’s gift store that the letter’s illustration and the
quote were on the bag that the clerk handed her. Putting the quote and drawing
on the bag was a good way to communicate the message that still resonates to
this day.
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| Gift store in C. M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana |
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