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= Wohaw = Wohaw (also known as Spotted Cow) was a Kiowa Indian who lived from 1855 - 1924. Wohaw became notable for his work as an artist. His most famous work, often called "Wohaw in Two Worlds," has come to represent the turmoil and strife American Plains Indians faced while attempting to adjust to "civilization" while losing their heritage and old ways of life. This work has been called an "autobiographical expression" in the scholarly community and has provided further insights into Indian Plains people during the tough transitional period of the 1870s.

"Wohaw in Two Worlds"
Wohaw's "Wohaw in Two Worlds" is a self portrait. In it, Wohaw stands in the center offering pipes in a gesture of traditional respect to a buffalo on his right and a cow on his left. On Wohaw's right (the left side of the drawing) along with the buffalo is also a teepee and woods, thus representing the old Indian way of life that he had known. On the opposite side with the cow their is a plowed field along with a church showcasing the new "civilized" way of life. The emphasis of this drawing is not on the differences between the two sides, but rather the juxtaposition of the Plains Indian caught in the middle of both ways of life. Scholars have speculated what it must have been like for Plains Indians during this time and this artistic expression perfectly describes the loss of self being felt by not just Wohaw, but other Plains people.

Another key difference illustrated between these two ways of life has to do with style. The drawings are done in typical Plains Indian style, but with some important differences. Wohaw does not sign his name in the traditional sense (normally a traditional name symbol) and instead prints his name above the character of himself.

Other Artistic Drawings
The best current collection of Wohaw's other works exists in the Missouri Historical Society. His other drawings were all completed in the same place as "Wohaw in Two Worlds." He completed at least two sketchbooks while serving time in prison. In 1875 he went to Fort Marion. He would stay there for three years serving time for being accused of killing three whites. While here he made many drawings including several about Kiowa tepee designs. These tepee drawings where in fashion with his other contemporary Kiowa artists of this time. One key difference between the style of Wohaw and his contemporaries compared to earlier Kiowa drawings was their setting of characters in a specific landscape as opposed to leaving characters free from a setting.

Life
While in his early twenties, Wohaw spent nearly four years in prisons Fort Still and Fort Marion. He spent seven months in Fort Still and three years in Fort Marion. After leaving Fort Marion Wohaw returned to his Kiowa Reservation. Once there, he would attend school, drop out later, join the local Indian Agency police force, and finally join a U.S. Cavalry unit comprised of other Indian troops. At the age of sixty nine Wohaw would die in the same Kiowa Indian Reservation.