Mahkoonsihkwa, Kiihkinehkiišwa, and Oonsaahšinihkwa
Watercolor on paper (facsimile)
Image courtesy of Tippecanoe County Historical Association
Mahkoonsihkwa (1772-1847) was an American by birth who was captured in Pennsylvania. As an adult, she married Šiipaakana, a Myaamia headman. Her older daughter, Kiihkinehkiišwa ‘Nancy Brouillette’ (ca. 1804-1847), is facing forward in the painting. Mahkoonsihkwa’s younger daughter, Oonsaahšinihkwa ‘Jane Slocum Bundy’ (1815-1877), faces away because she refused to allow the artist George Winter to take a sketch of her. The three women probably worked together on many pieces of ribbonwork in their lifetimes. The wearing blanket in the case is possibly the product of their work.