Nínoch-Kiäiu, Piegan Blackfeet Chief

Description

One of several Piegan chiefs encountered by Maximilian at Fort McKenzie, this man had recently changed his name from a Kétsepenn-núka ("Spotted Elk") to Nínoch-Kiäiu ("Chief of the Bears"). He took the new name to commemorate his success on a war expedition against the Salish, when forty-seven of the latter had been killed and their scalps taken. He was an arrogant, aggressive person and was not popular with either the Indians or the officials at the fort. Wrapped in a robe, he is very plainly dressed for this portrait because he was in mourning for his dead nephew, who had just been murdered near the fort by Blood Indians. Nínoch-Kiäiu threatened indiscriminate retaliation and revenge, causing much concern over the possible beginning of a vendetta. Nínoch-Kiäiu is pictured in the same attire and pose in Tableau 46 of the aquatint atlas.