Cotsiogo (–1912), also known as Codsiogo, Katsikodi, or Cadzi Cody, was an

Eastern Shoshone Eastern Shoshone are Shoshone who primarily live in Wyoming and in the northeast corner of the Great Basin where Utah, Idaho and Wyoming meet and are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. They lived in the Rocky Mountains du ...

artist known for his hide paintings. He lived on the

Wind River Indian Reservation The Wind River Indian Reservation, in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, is shared by two Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes, the Eastern Shoshone (, ''meaning: "buffalo eaters"'') and the Norther ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Early life

Born in the 1860s, Cotsiogo was a son of

leader

Washakie Washakie (1804/1810 – February 20, 1900) was a prominent leader of the Shoshone people during the mid-19th century. He was first mentioned in 1840 in the written record of the American fur trapper, Osborne Russell. In 1851, at the urging of ...

. During Cotsiogo's lifetime, the tribe was placed on the

in the

Wyoming Territory The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The ...

, a reservation established by the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868.

Work

Cotsiogo was known for his paintings on animal hides, including

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

hide. His earliest paintings had depictions of the Wolf (War) Dance with a

US flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

at the center of the piece. The Shoshone Wolf Dance evolved into the

Grass Dance The grass dance or Omaha dance is a style of modern Native American men's pow wow dancing originating in the warrior societies on the Northern Great Plains. Unlike most forms of pow wow dancing, the grass dance regalia generally has no feathers ...

, with men dancers going from having "one or two feathers in their hair to war bonnets with long streamers and feather bustles". Depictions of the Wolf Dance were quickly replaced by the

Sun Dance The Sun Dance is a ceremony practiced by some Native Americans in the United States and Indigenous peoples in Canada, primarily those of the Plains Indians, Plains cultures, as well as a new movement within Native American religions. Members of ...

, Grass Dance, and buffalo hunts. Cotsiogo, who sold his paintings to white tourists visiting the Wind River Reservation, included scenes of traditional buffalo hunts because they were seen as more desirable by buyers. Thanks to the tourist economy, new trade markets, and the influx of new materials, artists like Cotsiogo were able to produce works that helped support themselves and their families.

References

1866 births 1912 deaths Native American male artists Native American painters People from pre-statehood Wyoming Eastern Shoshone people Wind River Indian Reservation 20th-century Native American artists 19th-century Native American artists Eastern Shoshone Tribe {{US-painter-1860s-stub