William Clark as an Indian Agent

Rough sketch

William Clark spent much of his later years as an Indian Agent - basically someone who acted as a liaison between the native americans and the U.S. government.  Its easy to look back at Indian Agents as bad guys but it should be noted that many of them such as Clark worked hard to make sure the natives weren't exploited or booted off their land during the explosion of western expansion. In fact, Clark lost a bid to be Governor of Missouri because his opponents painted him as too friendly with the Indians.  

This illustration for the Notable Missourian book on William Clark shows Clark and other officials meeting with native american leaders for a treaty signing.  The Notable MIssourian book series is published by Truman State University Press.

Alternate rough sketch

Another alternative rough showing Clark meeting with an tribal leader.  I ended up using a version of this for the chapter 5 artwork.

Whoops I skipped this one...

This is the chapter 3 art for the Notable Missourian book (Truman State University Press) on Jeffery Deroine.   Here Jeffery is shown witnessing a treaty between the Ioway nation and the U.S. federal government.  

Young Jeffrey Deroine - a gifted communicator

This was my favorite Notable Missourian book to illustrate out of the 2015 series.  Jeffrey Deroine was a fascinating guy.  Born a slave, Jeffrey had a natural gift for language.  As a teen he was owned by a fur trapper who used Jeffrey's communication skills to negotiate trades with native peoples such as the Ioway tribe.  Starting with simple exchanges such as these, Jeffrey and the Ioway would form a strong friendship.  A friendship that would ultimately help Jeffrey to become a free man, travel the world, and own property - very rare things for a former slave during the early 19th century.  

This illustration is for the Notable Missourian book on Jeffrey Deroine, published by Truman State University Press.

Young Jeffrey Deroine interpreting for his fur-trapper master.