An exceptionally rare, candid interracial portrait from the Indian Wars era. 

Sixth plate studio tintype (narrow plate variant trimmed or sized slightly skinny at the vertical margins). N.p., ca. late 1870s-early 1880s. Housed in a dark leatherette case.

A seated full-length studio portrait capturing an Indigenous soldier alongside his white military comrade, engaged in an informal drinking and smoking scene. The Native American soldier at left is outfitted in a sack coat with fall collar, light trousers, and kepi bearing crossed muskets cocked slightly to one side, holding a lit cigar in his mouth while raising a full mug of beer in his right hand. Seated cross-legged beside him, his comrade wears a sack coat with fall collar over a dark waistcoat, trousers, and a kepi with crossed muskets, puffing a cigarette while tilting a dark bottle to pour beer directly into his own mug. A painted pastoral landscape backdrop extends behind the seated pair.

Photographic documentation of Native American scouts serving alongside U.S. Army soldiers during Western frontier campaigns is exceptionally rare, particularly in hard-plate formats. Rather than a stiff studio study, this candid composition captures cross-cultural camaraderie, shared vices, and the relaxed off-duty culture of enlisted soldiers on the frontier.

[Tintype, Sixth Plate, Ferrotype, Indian Scout, Native American, Indigenous, Soldier, U.S. Army, Frontier, Western, Comrades, Drinking, Beer, Beer Mug, Beer Bottle, Smoking, Cigar, Cigarette, Forage Cap, Fatigue Blouse, Cased Image, 1860s, Militaria]

Some bends in the plate, most visible at raking light.