Silver medals played an important role in American Indian policy for more than a century. Following a practice of the French, Spanish, and British in the New World, the United States government presented Indian peace medals to important chiefs and warriors as symbols of attachment to the new nation. In addition, the medals were marks of rank within the tribes and highly prized possessions. The medals are equally important in the history of American art. Designed by the best artists of the day, they comprise a gallery of the Presidents, for medals were struck with the portraits of Presidents from Washington to Benjamin Harrison. The reverses of the medals with their symbolic representations of peace and friendship and of the Indians' advance towards civilization, are of great iconographic interest. This volume is the story not only of the use of the medals in Indian relations, but of their designing and production as well. Included are illustrations in actual size of all Indian peace medals struck by the United States for official presentations to the Indians, many portraits of chiefs wearing the medals, and reproductions of the elaborate certificates sometimes presented with the medals. Documentation is exhaustive, with full references to the manuscript sources in the National Archives and other depositories. (Author/NEC)