Amos Bad Heart Bull

Amos Bad Heart Bull, also known as Waŋblí Wapȟáha (Eagle Bonnet; c. 1868–1913), was a noted Oglala Lakota artist in what is called Ledger Art. It is a style that adapts traditional Native American pictography to the new European medium of paper, and named for the accountants' ledger books, available from traders, used by the artists for their drawings and paintings. He was also the tribal historian of the Oglala, as his father Bad Heart Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Čhaŋtéšiča) was before him.

Early years Born about 1868 or 1869, Amos was the son of Bad Heart Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Čhaŋtéšiča) and his wife Her Red Blanket (Tȟašína Lúta Wiŋ). Amos' father was a brother of the headman He Dog and a nephew of the famous Oglala chief Red Cloud. Known as Eagle Bonnet (Waŋblí Wapȟáha) as a young man, Amos grew up living the traditional life of the Oglala Lakota. His family belonged to an Oglala camp known as the Soreback Band. In the process, he adapted traditional Native American pictography techniques to the new European medium of paper.

This was part of a development called Ledger Art, named for the accountants' ledger books used by Native Americans for their drawings and paintings. It was particularly associated with the art produced in the late nineteenth century by Native American men held at Fort Marion in Florida. They were held for more than a decade as prisoners of war, or political prisoners, following the Plains Wars. In addition to classes in English and other topics of United States society, the fort's officials provided the men with drawing materials and ledger books for their work. The collection of ledger books is held by the Smithsonian Institution.

After returning to Pine Ridge after serving his enlistment, Bad Heart Bull made his living as a small cattleman. He became the tribal historian of the Oglala Lakota, as his father had been before him. After the allocation of communal lands of the Pine Ridge Reservation under the Dawes Act, Bad Heart Bull received his land allotment along Black Tail Creek northwest of Oglala, South Dakota, near other members of the Soreback Band.

Marriage and family He married a widow named Sophia after returning to Pine Ridge Reservation. When Pretty Cloud died in 1947, her brother's ledger book full of drawings was buried with her.

In the 1930s, Hartley Burr Alexander, Blish's professor, had Bad Heart Bull's drawings photographed as a record and to accompany Blish's theses. He published them with an introduction and notes in a book, Sioux Indian Painting (1938). With the rise of interest in Native American history and culture, in 1967, the University of Nebraska Press published Blish's thesis as A Pictographic History of the Oglala Sioux. It included the drawings of Amos Bad Heart Bull. The reproductions were based on copies of the original prints of the photographs of the drawings.

Through Alexander's admiration of Bad Heart Bull's work, and Alexander's position as thematic consultant for the construction of the Nebraska State Capitol, Bad Heart Bull is noted as a primary thematic design influence on the Nebraska State Capitol, particularly in its East Chamber (its original Senate chamber).

Translation of his name A literal translation of the Lakota word čhaŋtéšiče is "he has a bad heart", but an idiomatic meaning is "he is sad." Tȟatȟáŋka Čhaŋtéšiče would likely have been understood in the same way "Sad Bull" would be in English. When Lakota names are translated literally into English, they may lose their idiomatic sense.