Attributed to Louis Siegriest

In 1939, San Francisco hosted the Golden Gate International Exposition to celebrate the opening of the San Francisco—Oakland Bay and Golden Gate Bridges and the theme of “Pacific Unity.” The Exposition included an “Indian Court” exhibit organized by the newly established Indian Arts & Crafts Board (IACB) with art displays, a vendor marketplace, artist demonstrations, and guided tours. These posters, produced by Louis Siegriest for the IACB in partnership with another New Deal program, the Federal Art Project, promote The Indian Court’s conception and representation of “eight great areas of Indian culture,” including the “Fishermen of the Northwest Coast, . . . Buffalo Hunters of the Plains, . . . the Cornplanters of the Pueblos, [and] the Navajo Shepherds”—Gallup’s collection includes only four of the eight total posters. The imagery is borrowed from Indigenous artists, who received little or no recognition. Siegriest created the poster designs but “had nothing to do with the actual process,” meaning he didn’t make the screens or pull the prints; “I would see that they got out,” he recalled. “I think they got out 1,500 of each poster.”¹