Various owners (dispersed); H. Malcolm Grimmer Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico; private owner; private purchase from a local court house yard sale/auction in Amidon, North Dakota in 1985;

This remarkable Lakota ledger book was part of a private purchase from a local court house auction and sale in Amidon, North Dakota in 1985, along with the Macnider Ledger. The Hunkpapa Lakota artist known as Jaw (Cehu'pa) or His Fight (Okicize Tawa) created 87, or more, of the 107 drawings found in the ledger book. Born in 1850, Jaw’s life straddles the years of raids and horse stealing against the Crow and others, the war against settlers and the U.S. military in the 1860s and 1870s, and confinement at the Standing Rock Agency on the Great Sioux Reservation. The drawings in this ledger book were created around 1880 in the Standing Rock area.

Many drawings depict Jaw participating in the pursuits he was known for, horse stealing and ceremony. Drawings show Jaw or other Lakota men mounted and dressed for raids, warfare, and horse stealing, but show no actual confrontations with enemies. However, the range of subject matter is particularly broad for a single ledger book, showing activities with horses (59), animals in the wild (22), ceremony (11) and dancers (11), courting (9), and hunting (5). At least one other artist drew in this ledger book accompanying Jaw’s exceptional style with smooth, curvalinear lines, compact forms, sparse but accurate attention to detail, and a characteristic single ovoid-shaped eye on horses, people, and sometimes other animals.

Ledger drawings, such as those in the Amidon Ledger, provide information on multiple registers at once. Personal details about Jaw’s association with wolf medicine (59, 61), associated with courage and stealth to aid in horse stealing, also tells us about the general relationship of Lakota men and spiritual power derived from other-than-human beings. Drawings of animals never really just represent naturalistic artistry, but also the innate characteristics of power that, under the right circumstances, will transfer to a worthy Lakota to aid in hunting, courting, or warfare. Drawings of human activity allude to the source of wisdom and energy that allowed the actor to shape the outcome.