As the first ethnographer of Indian culture, George Catlin plays a vital role by offering the Western eye a glimpse into the "uncivilized" culture of the North American Indians, both pictorially and textually. After the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Catlin took it upon himself to depict and paint prominent Indian leaders in their traditional clothing, as well as documenting his experiences through a series of letters. Catlin's work, North American Indians, stands out as a valuable time capsule for the modern reader. With the United States rapidly expanding westward, Catlin recognized the urgency that called for it. He tells us in his second letter: "I flew to their rescue, not for their lives or their race (for they are 'doomed' and must perish), but to save their appearance and their manners" (11) . Catlin clearly sees no hope for Indian survival in the face of imperialism. He goes on to compare the Indians' plight to that of the phoenix, suggesting that through his efforts "they might rise from the 'stain on a painter's palette' and live again on the canvas"....