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134 AFTER THE INDIAN WARS and internationally themed sections such as the Moorish Village, the Streets of Cairo, the Japanese Tea Garden, the German Village, and the Old English Fair. The entire event boasted that “no spirituous liquors were sold within the gates, nor was any place of amusement allowed to present any feature which could be criticized for a lack of moral tone.”1 Moral tone apparently was a loose concept. One of the most prominent and exotic sections of the exposition was the Indian Encampment, intended to “not only afford a highly attractive spectacle, but ... at the same time possess an educational value to the government as well as to the patrons of the Exposition. ... The Trans-Mississippi region has been the scene of many bloody confl icts waged between Indians and white men; within the same territory had been put forth the greatest effort on the part of the Indian to withstand the encroachment of his white brother; and lastly, it was in that section where the Indian was forced to acknowledge for all time the superiority of the Caucasian, accept the conditions offered, and retire peacefully, if not willingly, within the reservation provided for him.”2 In short, the Indian Wars had effectively concluded with the Wounded Knee Massacre of late 1890, which was still in recent memory. As the exposition’s goal was to promote prosperity of the American West, demonstrating that the long intractable Native American tribes were now peaceful and obediently confi ned to reservation lands was a strong element of its message. A proposal by the U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs was sent out to each Indian agency, stating, in part, It is the purpose of the promoters of the proposed encampment or congress to make an extensive exhibit illustrative of the mode of life, native industries, and ethnic traits of as many of the aboriginal American tribes as possible. To that end it is proposed to bring together selected families or groups from all the principal tribes and camp them in tepees, wigwams, hogans, etc., on the exposition grounds, and permit them to FIG. 1 (above): Night Illumination of Grand Court, Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, 1898. Published by the Detroit Photographic Co., 1898, neg. 53228. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, ppmsca. 18029. FIG. 2 (below): Portrait of Frank A. Rinehart, 1898. From Frank A. Rinehart, Rinehart’s Platinum Prints of American Indians, Chicago: Mize and Stearns Press, 1899. By Sebastian Miller On June 1, 1898, the Trans- Mississippi and International Exposition opened its doors to the public in Omaha, Nebraska. The stated intent of the event’s organizers, led by Gurdon Wattles, was to showcase the development and prosperity of the American West. On a more practical level, the businessmen of Omaha had observed the prosperity brought to Chicago by the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 and to San Francisco by the Midwinter Exposition in 1894, and they hoped to bring similar benefi ts to their own city. Their vision met with success and the fair attracted more than two and a half million visitors. The central court of the fair—located on the land that is today’s Kountze Park—featured a Venetian “lagoon” more than one-third of a mile long surrounded by twenty-one buildings constructed in an attractive if fantastical mishmash of Classical, Renaissance, and Moorish styles (fi g. 1). The fair’s more than 4,000 exhibits extended over 184 acres and focused on agricultural development, mining, manufacturing, regional wealth, fi ne arts, technology, state governments, The Rinehart Portrait Photos PORTFOLIO


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