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This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Artist
Unidentified Artist
Sitter
Olive Oatman, c. 1837 - 20 Mar 1903
Date
c. 1856
Type
Photograph
Medium
Ambrotype
Dimensions
Image/Sight (oval): 7 × 5.7 cm (2 3/4 × 2 1/4")
Case Open: 9.5 × 17.1 × 1 cm (3 3/4 × 6 3/4 × 3/8")
Case Closed: 9.5 × 8.4 × 1.9 cm (3 3/4 × 3 5/16 × 3/4")
Topic
Costume\Jewelry
Interior
Home Furnishings\Furniture
Costume\Jewelry\Ring
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table
Personal Attribute\Tattoo
Cased object
Olive Oatman: Female
Olive Oatman: Literature\Writer\Memoirist
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.2018.90
Exhibition Label
Born Whiteside County, Illinois
The abduction of fourteen-year-old Olive Oatman by Yavapai Indians in 1851 became one of the most sensational stories of the American West. After killing six members of the Oatman family, the Yavapais enslaved Olive and her younger sister for a year before trading them to the Mohave Indians of California. Treated as members of that tribe, the Oatman girls were tattooed on their chins according to tribal custom. Following her sister’s death, Olive remained a captive until 1856, when military author- ities secured her release. A year later, the publication of a lurid account of her captivity catapulted Olive Oatman to fame.
Nacida en Whiteside County, Illinois
El secuestro de la niña de 14 años Olive Oatman por indígenas yavapais en 1851 se convirtió en una de las historias más sensacionales del Viejo Oeste. Luego de matar a seis de sus familiares, los yavapais tuvieron como esclavas a Olive y su hermana menor durante un año, hasta que las intercambiaron con los mojaves de California. Estos las trataron como miembros de la tribu y les tatuaron la barbilla según la costumbre ancestral. Su hermana murió, pero Olive siguió cautiva hasta 1856, cuando las autori- dades militares lograron liberarla. Un año después, la publicación de un relato sensacionalista de su cautiverio la lanzó a la fama.
