Addih-Hiddisch “Maker of Roads”
One of the key pieces from Portraits of Honor, my August 5, 2010 one-man show at Legacy Gallery
Hidatsa Chief, originally painted by Karl Bodmer
Karl Bodmer recounts Addih-Hiddisch
Addih-Hiddisch by Karl Bodmer
This reference portrait I used for this painting of Hidatsa chief Addih-Hiddisch (known as “Maker of Roads”) was originally painted at Fort Clack, in March of 1834 by Karl Bodmer. It is distinctive among Karl Bodmer’s North American Indian portraits because Addih-Hiddisch is less formally dressed then most of Bodmer’s Native American subjects.
A leader of the Hidatsa village of Awacháwi, Addíh-Hiddísch was a frequent visitor to Maximilian and Bodmer’s cabin at Fort Clark in the winter of 1833-34. Maximilian generally disliked any intrusion of Euro-American garb into the clothing of Bodmer’s subjects; perhaps here he approved of the European hat because Addíh-Hiddísch embellished it with a coup feather. ~Karl Bodmer
Addih-Hiddisch was chief of the village Awachawi, the keeper of the tribal medicine bundle, and a member of the council organized for the mutual defense of all Hidatsa villages near Fort Clark.
He was also an impressive warrior, known for having attacked the enemy successfully on six separate occasions without losing a single one of his men. As was customary, his military exploits were detailed in his extensive geometric tattooing—although Addih-Hiddasch’s tattooing is unusual among the Hidatsa.
Generally the tattooing would only cover the right side of the chest and arm, but Addih-Hiddisch’s tattoos are much more extensive and cover his entire chest, right arm and hand, neck and face as seen in his portrait.
Addih-Hiddisch’s apparel
Addih-Hiddisch by James Ayers
In his portrait, Addih-Hiddisch wears a European style hat, topped with a coup feather, and a buffalo robe over his left shoulder, fur side in. Around his neck, over a native neckpiece, he wears a large silver peace medal, which shows his high status among the Hidatsa. These were awarded by the US government and were highly valued among the tribes.
Addih-Hiddisch carries a trade-tomahawk, with a scalp prominently displayed on a hoop at the handle, and a scalp lock at the head of the axe, presumably both originally belonging to an enemy, and taken in battle as a trophy.
The stripes on his leggings represent the number of horses he had captured, or given away as gifts. As mentioned earlier, the impressive geometric designs that cover his body are not war paint, but tattoos.
About the Hidatsa:
The Hidatsa (called Minnetaree by their allies, the Mandan) are a Siouan people, a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The present name Hidatsa formerly referred to one of the three tribal villages. When the villages consolidated, the name was adopted for the tribe as a whole.
Their language is related to that of the Crow, and they are sometimes considered a parent tribe to the modern Crow in Montana. Occasionally they have also been confused with the Gros Ventres in Montana.
The Hidatsa originally lived in Miniwakan, the Devil’s Lake region of North Dakota, before being pushed southwestward by the Lakota. As they migrated west, the Hidatsa came across the Mandan at the mouth of the Heart River. The two groups formed an alliance, and settled into an amiable division of territory along the area’s rivers.
Lewis and Clark Era
In 1804, Lewis and Clark came on the Hidatsa in three villages at the mouth of the Knife River, and the Mandan in two villages a few miles lower down on the Missouri River.
Tribal appearance and customs have been documented by the visits of two artists of the American west. In 1832, George Catlin visited the allied tribes, and remained with them for several months, drawing, painting and learning about their culture.
He was followed by Karl Bodmer, a Swiss painter accompanying German explorer Prince Maximilian zu Weid Neuweid on a Missouri River expedition. Catlin and Bodmer’s works record the rapidly dwindling Hidatsa and Mandan societies, which were disappearing under pressure from encroaching settlers, infectious disease, and government restraints.
Smallpox epidemic to present day
The smallpox epidemic of 1837-1838 reduced the Hidatsa to about 500 people. The remaining Mandan and Hidatsa united, and moved farther up the Missouri in 1845. They eventually settled at “Like-a-fishhook” bend near Fort Berthold. The Arikara joined them there in 1862.
Today the Hidatsa share the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota with the remaining Mandan and Arikara.
About the Portraits of Honor by James Ayers show
This show opened August 5, 2010 at Legacy Gallery’s Jackson, WY location. Please follow the link to read more about Portraits of Honor by James Ayers.
