Wi-jún-jon

Wi-jún-jon, also called Pigeon's Egg Head or The Light (1796–1872) was a Native American chief of the Assiniboine tribe, which was located in the Great Plains. He is best known as the subject of a painting by George Catlin, a dual portrait portraying him on the left side of the portrait in traditional garb and on the right side in contemporary Anglo-American garb after he was assimilated following a visit to Washington, D.C., in 1832.

Caitlin wrote that Wi-jún-jon "exchanged his beautifully garnished and classic costume" for

a suit of "broadcloth, of finest blue, trimmed with lace of gold; on his shoulders were mounted two immense epaulets; his neck was strangled with a shining black stock and his feet were pinioned in a pair of water-proof boots, with high heels which made him 'step like a yoked hog'."

A print based on the painting, showing Wi-jún-jon wearing Assiniboine dress and a Western suit, titled ''Wi-jún-jon, Pigeon's Egg Head, Going to Washington, returning to his house'', became quite popular, appearing in a German magazine, ''Die Gartenlaube'' in 1853.

References

1796 births
1872 deaths
1832 in Washington, D.C.
19th-century Native Americans
Assiniboine people
Cultural assimilation
Masterpiece Museum
Murdered Native American people
Native American leaders

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