On Columbus Day three years later, October 14th, 2013, it is Gregg Deal dressed as the “real” Indian, this time at the intersection of 7th and H streets in northwest D.C. It is a busy intersection with an entrance to an underground metro station and most prominently, a very authentic replica of a Ming dynasty Chinese arch spanning 6 lanes of traffic. With the Friendship Archway as his backdrop, Gregg Deal is performing as the Last American Indian on Earth.

He wears a large feather headdress and woolen leggings with a breechclout he ordered from the website “Crazy Crow Trading Post (crazycrow.com),” as well as a ribbon shirt from a friend, and an imitation bone chest plate made of plastic beads. On his face he wears Oakley sunglasses and has painted a large black hand covering his mouth. His shoes are Vans he has painted to look like moccasins, and he wears an assortment of jewelry and other beaded embroidery, the beads he swears, “are made in China.”

As if the juxtaposition of the artist adorned in a feather headdress beneath the grand Chinese arch wasn’t a rich enough composition, as Gregg poses for a photograph in the center of the intersection, a street vendor attempts to interfere. Apparently hawking a back issue of LIFE magazine, she peals off her sweatshirt to reveal an oversized t-shirt featuring Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and the text “Hail Victory.” Walking directly between Gregg and the camera, the vendor proceeds to stalk Gregg for a few minutes after the encounter, but it becomes clear she has no real desire to engage, and eventually retreats. Though he has seen people demonstrate a wide array of reactions, this one is an apparent first.

But Gregg Deal’s artwork is not limited to his performance of “The Last American Indian on Earth.” With a BFA from George Mason University, Deal is a painter, sculptor, and graphic designer by trade. He exhibits his work regularly at The Dunes, a gallery/loft/bar in Columbia Heights, as well as other galleries and venues around the District. His work focuses almost exclusively on his experience as a Native American, and draws heavily on historic imagery.