Benjamin West's Native Americans (any West enthusiasts?)

Hi all! So I have an academic predicament here. I have an incomplete for an Art History course taken last semester and I had all of this semester (which is almost over now) to finish a ten page paper on a topic from Neoclassical or Romantic art history (19th century). It's not like I haven't been trying, believe me. I have been studying the paintings and Native American history relentlessly.

I chose Benjamin West with a focus on his depictions of Native Americans because his inclusion of American Indians in his paintings is often very enigmatic and creates a beautiful effect (see "The Death of General Wolfe," "Penn's Treaty with the Indians," or "A Portrait of Guy Johnson"). I was sold as soon as I laid eyes on these paintings. Circumstances surrounding the creation of the paintings were unusual. He was really the only person painting Native Americans at the time, and he did so with greater attention to detail regarding dress and other Native customs than any other hacks that dared to approach the subject. And compared to his other paintings (his catalog is enormous) these few are very different. A lot of art historians say West invented modern history painting since he was the first to depict a historic event with his subjects in their contemporary dress instead of using Classical, Biblical, or mythological references to make the subject look impressive.

General Wolfe: http://www.sightswithin.com/Benjamin.West/The_Death_of_General_Wolfe/Cropped.jpg Penn's Treaty: http://withart.visitphilly.com/images/uploads/artwork/WEST_B-1878_1_10.jpg Guy Johnson: http://www.staroilpainting.com/images/shop/product/b0747a2c1c59f07321ffb3376c2b8dee.jpg

So I chose an oddball topic, which I think is where I ended up in trouble. It's the independent research area I'm having difficulty with: introduce an independent topic with which to study Benjamin West's paintings and back it up with visual analysis (my professor was very specific). In what context can I, a lowly undergrad, discuss Benjamin West's paintings of Native Americans with a fresh approach? I'm at my fucking wit's end here. I'm so desperate I'm considering comparisons to various saintly or religious figures (lame). The Indian in "A Portrait of Guy Johnson" looks like a St. Francis of Assisi to me, but does that line up?

St. Francis of Assisi: http://uploads8.wikipaintings.org/images/cimabue/saint-francis-of-assisi-detail.jpg

Help me reddit. I've worked way too fucking hard at this to give up, but I am still so lost.