This painting by George Catlin depicts Tchong-tas-sáb-be (Black Dog), war chief of the Osage, standing with Tál-lee and Kó-ha-túnk-a, two of the tribes most celebrated warriors. Throughout the mid-19th century, Catlin painted more than 500 works featuring western landscapes and Native American portraits.

​

Statehood had different meanings for the different groups of people living in America’s territories. When the territory became part of the U.S. thousands of native Americans were living in Missouri. Many had migrated there after being pushed out of their eastern ancestral homelands as America expanded westward. These displaced tribes along with the Osage, Mossura, Otos, Iowas, and Quapaws (who had all called Missouri home) were forced out of Missouri following its admission into the Union. The U.S. government did not recognize Native Americans as American citizens, therefore their removal from a territory became part of the statehood process. Thus, for white settlers, statehood meant the right to self-government but for Missouri’s native tribes, statehood meant displacement and further marginalization.