In the mid-1890s, a young portrait photographer from Seattle, Washington, named Edward Curtis found himself captivated by the local Native Americans, who would spend hours on the tide flats digging for clams and mussels. He began taking photographs of them, going as far as to ask the daughter of Chief Sealth, of the Suquamish people after whom Seattle is named, to sit for a portrait. These early photographs, rendered in a nostalgic and moody sepia, would lay the groundwork for one of the most important and prolific artists in American history.
By 1904, Edward Curtis began to receive widespread recognition for his photographs of Native Americans in the Pacific Northeast, which motivated him to expand his projects to include tribes throughout the American West. He believed that these societies, with their rich traditions and spiritual values, would slowly dissolve and assimilate into white culture. So in an effort to preserve these ceremonies, beliefs, daily life, and landscapes, Curtis began his journey to create a 20-volume collection of photographs titled, The North American Indian.
With support from President Theodore Roosevelt and financial backing from railroad tycoon J.P. Morgan, Curtis would complete the final volume of The North American Indian in 1930. Approximately 40,000 photographs from more than 80 tribes would come to comprise one of largest and most important collections of American history.
Today, all 20 volumes of Edward Curtis' The North American Indian are available for viewing online at the Curtis Library at Northwestern University.
Cheyenne Type, 1910.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Crater Lake, printed 1923.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Hupa Woman, printed 1923.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Hupa Mother and Child, printed 1923.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Bringing the Sweat-lodge Willows — Piegan, 1910.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Yumqas — Mamalelekala, 1914.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Hupa Fisherman, printed 1923.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
The Chief — Klamath, printed 1923.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
A Mixed-blood Coast Pomo, 1924.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Achomawi Basket Maker, 1923.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Sun Dance Encampment, 1900.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Wife of Modoc Henry — Klamath, printed 1923.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Mother and Child — Apsaroke, 1908.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
In Kwakiutl Waters, 1914.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Principal Female Shaman of the Hupa, 1923.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Woman's Primitive Dress — Tolowa, printed 1923.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Sunset on the Puget Sound, 1898.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Ugiyaki (in beaded cap) — Nunivak, 1928.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
A Grizzly Bear Brave — Piegan, 1910.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Travaux — Piegan, 1900.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Cheyenne Girl, 1905.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Twin Child Healer, 1914.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Launching the Boat — Diomede Island, 1928.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Cheyenne Profile, 1910.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Gathering Hanamh — Papago, 1907.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Mamalelekala Cemetery on Village Island, 1914.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Oscar Makes Cry — Ponca, 1927.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
In the Medicine Lodge — Arikara, 1908.
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
