Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company

Item

Type
Photograph
Title
Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company
Rationale
Touring shows such as these spread racist stereotypes of American Indians, portraying them as purer and simpler people than Euro-Americans.
Description
The Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company of Connecticut was an extremely successful touring show that entertained and sold some genuine medicine and some fake concoctions under the guise of Indian cure-alls. Men dressed as Native Americans from the Great Plains wear large feather headdresses, posed with white men and children sitting under the stage/tent.

These shows did not employ Kickapoo people (from the Plains). They hired Iroquois and other New England Native Americans, as the company was based in Connecticut. Some people they hired were considered medicine men, but many were not. The performances were more akin to Wild West Shows but sold products rooted in Western beliefs of Indigenous purity and natural health and constitution.
Date
1892
1800s, 1900s
Creator
Gentieu, Pierre A., 1842-1930
Extent
8"x10"
600 x 480 px
Publisher
Hagley Museum & Library
Rights
The copyright and related rights status of this item has not been evaluated. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available (noted above in Publisher and Identifier) for more information.
References
https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-kickapoo-indian-medicine-company-of-new-haven-entertains-the-masses-but-doesnt-cure-them/