The reservation era of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Native American tribes had ceded their land to the federal government and were confined to set aside tracts of land, created profound cultural changes for the Plains peoples. The masculine artistic tradition of painting warrior's exploits on hide shirts and robes declined but men continued to record their deeds and their changing way of life in paintings and drawings on canvas, muslin, and small notebooks, or ledger books. Many of these works memorialize individual achievements in hunting and warfare. Some ledger books were carried into battle and "captured" on the battlefield. U.S. Army men who had amicable relations with Indian scouts or were guards of Native American prisoners commissioned others. This drawing depicts one warrior scalping another fallen warrior who is dropping his bow and arrows.

Watercolor painting of a Pueblo dancer about to climb a ladder leaning against a kiva. Awa Tsireh is also called Alfonso Roybal.

The scene depicted shows the fight between a Native warrior (possibly Cheyenne) and a non-native person. The warrior is wearing long leggings with a stripe and a blue shirt. Two feathers are on his head. He is carrying a shield with a circular design decorated with feathers and using a long decorated spear. His horse, that he is riding barebacked, has his tail bobbed, dyed and possibly wrapped for battle. The non-native person has been unseated and is falling off his saddled horse. He wears a black coat over checkered pants. His derby style hat has fallen off his head. These drawings are done by tearing out paper from ledger books that were used by army and reservation post managers as a substitute for using hides- the traditional medium fro such drawingsfor offical art papers.

The reservation era of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Native American tribes had ceded their land to the federal government and were confined to set aside tracts of land, created profound cultural changes for the Plains peoples. The masculine artistic tradition of painting warrior's exploits on hide shirts and robes declined but men continued to record their deeds and their changing way of life in paintings and drawings on canvas, muslin, and small notebooks, or ledger books. Many of these works memorialize individual achievements in hunting and warfare. Some ledger books were carried into battle and "captured" on the battlefield. U.S. Army men who had amicable relations with Indian scouts or were guards of Native American prisoners commissioned others. This drawing depicts one warrior on horseback with a rifle confront another warrior on foot about to release his arrow from the bow. Still another warrior behind the horse brandishes his rifle. A sword is suspended in mid-air behind his head.

The ledger drawing scene shows a Native man on a charging horse, clubbing a soldier with a tomahawk weapon. The Native (possibly Cheyenne) has on decorated leggings; his hair wrapped with an elaborate headpiece with a whole bird on top of his head and a flowing trailer alongside of it . The soldier, caught between the legs of the horse, wears a blue army uniform and brandishes a pistol.There is the outline of a wagon in the lower left. These drawings are done by tearing out paper from ledger books that were used by army and reservation post managers as a substitute for using hides- the traditional medium fro such drawingsfor offical art papers.

The ink is black and red.

The paper is white. The ink is black.

The ink is black and red.

The ink is blue.

The ink is brown and yellow.