Miller painted several portraits of Kansas, or Kaw, Indians, whom he met early on his western expedition (e.g., CR# 310, CR# 316). Among those portrayed, Chief White Plume appears the most polished. In the other portraits, Miller’s sitters look slightly disheveled, their hair unkempt, and often bear stern expressions. Miller depicts White Plume as a regal leader, his stateliness underscored by the silver medallion he wears around his neck. The medal is embellished with the profile of John Quincy Adams, who bestowed this token upon White Plume for “meritorious services and as a mark of appreciation.” (Rough Draught 46) Interestingly, the former president’s profile echoes White Plume’s, both men gazing to the left with chins raised.
When Miller encountered the Kansas Indians, their ways of life had been gravely affected by the westward expansion of Euro-American settlers. In particular, the large herds of buffalo and elk which historically inhabited their traditional lands and which were primary sources of sustenance among the Kansas had been pushed further west, forcing the Kansas Indians to adapt to a more sedentary agricultural lifestyle. (Rough Draught 161)
