[Indians in camp]

The pose of Eastman’s solitary piper recalls the classical motif of a piping goatherd playing for his flock. This subject, portrayed in European painting of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, recalls ancient Roman poetry that describes the golden age of Arcadia, a mythical time of innocence preceding the corrupting development of society. Sympathetic European Americans of Eastman’s time saw the continent as an American Arcadia on the verge of transformation. In this context, Indians in Camp may represent more than the traditions witnessed by the artist in Minnesota. By depicting disappearing Indian folkways in a European cultural context, Eastman reminded his audience of the epochal changes taking place at home.