Art Break - Angel De Cora: Reviving Indigenous Design in American Art

Angel De Cora (c. 1869–1919), whose given name was Hinook-Mahiwi-Kalinaka, was a Ho-Chunk artist, designer, and educator who played a pivotal role in bringing Indigenous design traditions into American arts and crafts. She was born on the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska around 1869, and in 1883 she was taken, without her family’s knowledge or consent, to the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia as part of a federal effort to assimilate Native children through industrial education and strict cultural reprogramming. Despite the system’s attempt to suppress Indigenous identity, De Cora showed exceptional artistic talent. After graduating from Hampton in 1891 she studied at Smith College and later at Drexel Institute in Philadelphia under Howard Pyle, who regarded her as one of his most gifted students.  

In 1907, De Cora was commissioned to design chapter title pages for The Indians’ Book, edited by ethnomusicologist Natalie Curtis. The publication gathers songs and stories from 18 Native nations, accompanied by musical transcriptions, photographs, and illustrations. Its cover adapts the form of a painted parfleche—a rawhide case used to carry essential belongings—created by Cheyenne artist Wihunahe (Chief Woman). The design suggests the book itself as a symbolic container preserving Indigenous cultural memory. 

For the interior title pages, De Cora created distinctive lettering for each chapter inspired by the visual traditions of the respective nation, rather than repeating a single standardized design. Each chapter’s title page also features an illustration by a Native artist. For the Dakota section, Sioux artist Tatanka Ptéčela (Short Bull) contributed an image of a Dakota warrior and medicine man wearing a horned head-dress symbolizing divine power. 

Rachael DiEleuterio 
Librarian and Archivist 

Plan your Del Art visit today to see The Indians’ Book and other works by De Cora, currently on view. www.delart.org.