Funeral Scaffold of the Sioux Chief, from Travels in the Interior of North America, 1839-43
Aquatint engraving
Ackermann & Co., London
Greenslade Special Collections and Archives
Olin and Chalmers Libraries
Kenyon College

This scene is an intimate view into the Sioux's ritual around death. The structure built of long tree limbs with a ribbed construction, is a type of air-coffin in which important members of the tribe were elevated. Usually warriors and never women, the corpses were tightly wrapped in a personal robe or blanket along with cherished items and belongings. The body was properly buried only after it had fully decomposed. The structure was erected to honor the warrior and help their ascent into the heavens. The curved edge-like form of the scaffold was used to deter hungry animals.