Bound for the Fair: Chief Joseph, Quanah Parker, and Geronimo and the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair

Abstract:The 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition was a demonstration of America’s newly minted might both abroad and at home. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the display of the Native American, who, through a variety of means, was exhibited, paraded, and exploited. One of the most important but largely unexplored aspects of this display was the Native American celebrity. Of particular importance were Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, Comanche Chief Quanah Parker, and Geronimo, the “Apache Terror.” This article examines the meaning of their presence and absence in St. Louis. More specifically, through an investigation of contemporary imagery, it analyzes how these “Notable Resistance Leaders” corroborated notions of the Native American as spectacle, commodity, and spoil of American conquest all while maintaining a certain level of autonomy that comes with celebrity.