Over the course of several decades, Sicangu Lakota (Brulé Sioux) headman Iron Nation signed several important treaties on behalf of his band, but by 1867 he was having difficulties securing promised treaty annuities from the Indian agent responsible for their distribution. In Washington, where he sat before Alexander Gardner’s camera, he neither negotiated the terms of a new treaty nor did he appeal to Congress for the payments owed to his people. Rather, Iron Nation toured the capital city, taking in such sights as the White House, the Capitol, and the Navy Yard. (He was likely also presented with the pictured pipe tomahawk, manufactured by the federal government as a gift for Native peoples and, incidentally, never smoked by the recipients.)
Arranged by his agent, Iron Nation’s trip reflected a common strategy designed to overwhelm Native people with the power of the United States. With their Native guests so impressed, the government hoped for complete and quiet capitulation to its expansionist policies.
