at Buffalo History Museum
Co-curated by Joe Stalhman
The Trial of Red Jacket Canvass Exhibit is back on display at the Buffalo History Museum after nearly 10 years. The oil painting was completed in 1869 by John Mix Stanley. It depicts Red Jackets Trial in 1801 on the Buffalo Creek Reservation. His rivals, Handsome Lake and Cornplanter put him on trail for witchcraft after opposing their views. The painter John Mix Stanley was a prolific painter known for Indian portraits during westward expansion in the 19th century. Many figures in this painting have on regalia that highlights native tribes from the west because
The Trial of Red Jacket Canvass Exhibit was a fun one for me to do. This exhibit is actually another follow-up of the ongoing work that we have been doing with the Buffalo History Museum ever since the repatriation of the Red Jacket Peace Medal in 2021. In this exhibit, we looked at a painting that John Mix Stanley, a 19th Century painter, did on the trial of Red Jacket. Within this painting there’s a lot of issues of authenticity and actually who was there at the trial. And, there’s a lot of information placed into this painting and it generates a lot of discussion. As a result, the Buffalo History Museum invited me to talk about the history around the painting, which I did wholeheartedly.
One of the things that I like about the exhibit is that Mr. Anthony Greco, the curator at the Buffalo History Museum, took it as an opportunity to highlight some of the cultural and inaccuracies of the painting with objects that they hold within the museum. I really like that caveat added to this exhibit. It should get people having more discussions. Like I said, it was a very wonderful experience. I always enjoy working with the Buffalo History Museum. They seem to be intent on having stories and sharing narratives of the Buffalo area that are inclusive. As a result, it was a real honor to be able to work with them on this exhibit.
Joe