Western History is often understood primarily from the perspective of the United States westward expansion as reflected in the concept of manifest destiny. Rarely do we have the opportunity to view this period through the eyes of native artists who were fighting to maintain ownership of their ancestral lands. These two historical currents came together in 1866 with the Hazen Expedition, when the expedition’s cartographer, Ambrose Bierce, recorded two “Indian inscriptions” that were first-hand accounts of indigenous groups’ efforts to combat westward expansion of different non-native peoples. Although the native groups ultimately failed in this effort, these narrative vignettes provide first-hand testimony to their effort to maintain control of the Powder River Basin and surrounding regions in the face of a variety of intrusive elements. As a part of the Biographic art tradition, both sites appear to have been left as “calling cards,” a recently recognized site type whose purpose was to taunt defeated enemies with an unmistakable message detailing the artist’s bravery and audacity in invading their territory.

中文翻译：

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安布罗斯·比尔斯 (Ambrose Bierce) 的印度铭文：博兹曼小径沿线印白冲突的象形记录

西方历史通常主要从美国向西扩张的角度来理解，这反映在明显命运的概念中。我们很少有机会通过为维护祖传土地所有权而奋斗的本土艺术家的眼睛来看待这个时期。这两种历史潮流在 1866 年与哈森探险队汇合，当时探险队的制图师安布罗斯·比尔斯 (Ambrose Bierce) 记录了两份“印度铭文”，这些铭文是土著群体努力打击不同非土著人民向西扩张的第一手资料。尽管土著群体最终在这一努力中失败了，但这些叙事小插曲为他们在面对各种侵入性因素时保持对粉河盆地和周边地区的控制的努力提供了第一手证据。