The author shares not only her artistic rendition of the prominent natives she paints, but stories, legends and personal experiences of these historical figures of a vanishing nation. Mildred Valley Thornton had an abiding passion which she pursued with almost missionary fever throughout her life - the preservation of Plains Indian culture. For over fifty years she dedicated herself to that purpose through the medium of her paintings, writing and lectures. During the course of her self-appointed career, Mildred not only painted the portraits of many prominent and historical Natives, most of whom are long since dead, but she assembled an accompanying catalog of anecdotes, folklore and legends, mostly related in now long forgotten native tongues, which today provide a unique chronicle of a vanished age. This publication is a unique collection of both colorful portraits and the fascinating story behind each one.