FORT HALL — The spirit of Chief Pocatello lives on in a new work of art that encapsulates the iconic Native American leader’s regality and is set against a backdrop of a powerful buffalo

Local artist Tal Sampson has presented paintings of Chief Pocatello to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and the city of Pocatello decades ago, but this reimagined work may be what he considers his magnum opus.

Sampson’s original oil painting earned him the Idaho State University President’s Award in 2006, and over the years he has continued to revisit and refine his work.

Since no photograph of Chief Pocatello exists, Sampson drew inspiration from period-accurate traditional clothing and used historical context for what he might have looked like in his early 30s. The feathers of his staff are ruffled and imperfect, the headdress is more accurate to what Native Americans during that time might have worn, and Sampson placed significant importance on the visage of a buffalo skull in the background.

“I wanted to project a lot of positive energy,” Sampson said. “I wanted to project his culture, his stature.”

Sampson has worked closely with the Chief Pocatello family and tribal leadership in the area, a relationship that spans more than 15 years and dates back to the original paintings he presented to them years ago. Sampson was eventually adopted by the family as a brother, an honor that would further guide the intention, passion and skill he put into his depictions of Chief Pocatello.

“When we started this project with the (Pocatello) family, I think the number one thing we wanted was to capture his spirit,” Sampson said. “I want people to also look at it as, ‘This was an area where these people have been for thousands of years and they are pretty powerful people.’ So it’s a very proud image.”

In addition to the cultural connection and the importance placed on Native American motifs and symbology, Sampson drew inspiration from historical pictures of Chief Pocatello’s descendants, subtle details that Sampson said the family recognized when viewing the art piece.

For the new oil painting, Sampson gathered with the Pocatello family in the oldest church at Fort Hall and unveiled it to great adoration. Sampson was then granted permission by family members to donate prints to the Fort Hall Business Council and the city of Pocatello.

“Tal’s work continues to honor the legacy of Chief Pocatello in a way that is respectful to our people,” said Donna Thompson, chairwoman of the Fort Hall Business Council. “We are grateful for his generosity and for the care he puts into representing our history.”

Sampson also has plans to present a print of the work to newly elected Pocatello Mayor Mark Dahlquist and the City Council in the coming weeks, a gesture that echoes the Chief Pocatello portrait he presented to former Mayor Brian Blad in the formative years of his tenure.

“This painting doesn’t just represent (Chief) Pocatello,” Sampson said. “It represents all the great chiefs in this time period, in the Great Basin culture and the plains culture. So it doesn’t have to just be Pocatello, but I painted it on behalf of Pocatello, and I tried to use the same ancestry to get that done.”