Ledger art is a term for narrative drawing or painting on paper or cloth, predominantly practiced by the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Kiowa, Ledger art flourished primarily from the 1860s to the 1920s. A revival of ledger art began in the 1960s and 1970s. The term comes from the accounting ledger books and field note books that were a common source of paper during the late 19th century.

Ledger art evolved from traditional hide painting. Among Plains tribes, women have historically painted abstract geometrical designs, whereas men paint representational designs. Thus the dominance of men in ledger art. The men’s designs were typically heraldic devices, visions, or stories painted on shields, drums, tipis, shirts, leggings, or robes. Before the Plains tribes were forced to live on reservations in the 1800s and early 1900s, men often painted personal feats in battle or hunting. Plains art depicted communally acknowledged events of valor and tribal importance in order to gain status for the individuals who participated in them, and their band and kin. Plains pictorial art emphasizes narrative action and eliminates unnecessary detail or backgrounds. Figures tended to be drawn in hard outlines and filled with solid fields of color.

These narrative works were all historically painted on animal hides. When buffalo became scarce after the US federal government’s eradication programs, and settler migrations, Plains Artists began painting and drawing on paper, canvas, and muslin.

Some well-known ledger artists were prisoners of war and almost all continued drawing and painting after their release from prison.. Sioux,  Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Commanche warriors that fought the US Army to protect the last free herd of buffalo and to assert their peoples autonomy. Ledger art became a way of preserving history and one of subtle rebellion. The school of thought behind some artists was one that the invaders where removing our history and culture so we will record and paint over theirs.