Tucson
c. 1970
Designer
Designer Unknown
DIMENSIONS
27 1/2 x 18 in. (69.9 x 45.7 cm)
OBJECT NUMBER
PH.9702
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
United States
CREDIT LINE
Gift of David and Lucinda Pollack
KEYWORDS
Man, Native American, Political, Portrait

Goyathlay (Geronimo) was a Chiricahua Apache leader whose decades-long resistance to Mexican and United States forces made him the country’s most famous “hostile Indian.” His legend carries with it a mythology of rebellion and strength that often overshadows the seriousness of his fight for the preservation of his people. In this poster, an 1887 photograph by Benjamin Wittick of Goyathlay is co-opted to promote tourism to the town of Tucson, Arizona. The Native leader is framed within the orange circle of a setting sun (or, alternatively, a red bull’s-eye). The accompanying text parodies the marketing slogan “George Washington slept here” that is frequently used by colonial inns and historic homes to enhance their cultural significance. Geronimo’s time in Tucson was not voluntary. In 1886, he was imprisoned and displayed as a tourist attraction there, eventually dying in captivity at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The photograph used in this poster was taken during his time as a prisoner of war.

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