The End of the Trail Symbol Analysis

The End of the Trail is a 1915 sculpture by the American artist James Earle Fraser. The sculpture itself symbolizes the gradual destruction of Native culture and the incompatibility of the old way of life with modernity. King’s evocation of the sculpture reinforces this symbolism but also gestures toward the possibility of an improved, culturally rich future.

Fraser’s sculpture depicts a “dejected Indian” sitting atop his dejected horse. King explains that “both rider and horse have run out of time and space and are poised on the edge of oblivion.” In other words, Whites have pushed Native people and their traditional ways of life out of their native lands and to the brink of extinction.

On the one hand, King acknowledges that the sculpture embodies the incompatibility of the Native people’s previous way of life in a modern, westernized world. On the other hand, though, King entertains the notion that the horse refuses to fall off the end of the trail: “its front legs are braced and its back legs are dug in. American expansion be damned.” In this interpretation, the sculpture reflects the strength and tenacity of a people who have persisted in the face of centuries of violence and cultural erasure. King’s dual interpretation of the sculpture symbolizes his overall attitude toward the story of Native people in North America. He maintains a bleak cynicism about the violence and suffering Native people have endured, and he recognizes how government policy keeps Native people disempowered and vulnerable. At the same time, though, he also notes that Native people have persisted despite centuries of systemic oppression, pointing out that their vibrant—and undoubtedly alive—culture has sustained them. King thus entertains a hope for the future of Indian-White relations and the possibility of a sovereign, prosperous Native people.