Frozen In Time

Photographer captured classic Indian images

Among the important and well-known American Indians photographed by Edward Sheriff Curtis at the turn of the 20th century were Apache leader Geronimo, pictured here, Chief Joseph, Red Cloud and Medicine Crow.
Among the important and well-known American Indians photographed by Edward Sheriff Curtis at the turn of the 20th century were Apache leader Geronimo, pictured here, Chief Joseph, Red Cloud and Medicine Crow.

Critics might say Edward Sheriff Curtis “faked” his photographs.

It’s true that by the time the self-taught photographer began to chronicle the lives of American Indians, it was the turn of the 20th century. Many of the traditional ways were vanishing - or already lost.

“The subjects were indeed staged,” says Timothy G. Nutt, head of Special Collections for the University of Arkansas Libraries. “Curtis played to the ‘Eurocentric’ vision of Native Americans - they were primitive. (He) emphasized (their) primitive nature by removing modern items from the photos, such as clocks.

In some cases, Curtis had his subjects wear obsolete dress and clothing.”

That doesn’t change the value of his work, George Horse Capture, a Native American anthropologist, wrote in 2001.

“One of Curtis’ major goals was to record as much of the people’s way of traditional life as possible. Not content to deal only with the present population and their arts and industries, he recognized that the present is the result of the past, and the past dimension must be included as well.

“... He presented his subjects in a traditional way whenever possible,” Horse Capture explained. “And even supplied a bit of the proper clothing when his subjects had none.

Reenactments of battles, moving camp, ceremonies and other past activities were also photographed.

“These efforts provided extended pleasure to the elders and preserve a rare view of the earlier ways of the people.”

Curtis, born near Whitewater, Wis., in 1868,planned on printing 500 complete sets of “The North American Indian,” a 20-volume series that represented his experiences from 1907 to 1930 documenting nearly 100 tribes in the United States and Alaska.

“But by 1930, when the last two volumes were published, less than 300 sets had been sold,” Nutt explains. On show at Mullins Library on the University of Arkansas campus through Dec. 21, an exhibit of 20 images represents a small portion of the university’s set of Curtis’ “North American Indian,” purchased in 1945 and housed in the Rare Book Collection in Special Collections.

Poor sales were in part based on price, Nutt says. “The set originally cost about $3,000. In today’s terms, it would cost about $72,000.” Horse Capture also blamed “the declining interest in the American Indian, the Great Depression and other negative forces.” Whatever the cause, the financial stress caused Curtisto suffer a nervous breakdown, and he died in 1952, at the age of 84, virtually unknown.

“The images were ‘rediscovered’ in the 1970s,” Nutt says, and were found to include “many important and well-known Indian people of that time, including Geronimo, Chief Joseph, Red Cloud, Medicine Crow and others,” according to Horse Capture.

His images “were produced using the photogravureprocess,” Nutt explains. “After the photograph is taken, the image is transferred to a copper printing plate, which is then printed on paper.

Photogravure images look like photographs, but they are actually a series of connected lines. Curtis used sepia ink and handmade paper, which enhanced the images even more and gave them an artlike quality.”

In addition to morethan 2,200 sepia-toned photogravures, Curtis also made 10,000 wax cylinder recordings of American Indian language and music, tribal mythologies and history, and descriptions of tribal population, traditional foods, dwellings, clothing, games, ceremonies, burial customs, biographical sketches and other primary source information.

“Unfortunately, the audio collected by Curtis is unavailable,” Nutt says. “The University of Indiana archives has most of the wax cylinders created by Curtis, but they have deteriorated. Hopefully, IU will find the money to save these wonderful items.”

“The passing of every old man or woman means the passing of some tradition, some knowledge of sacred rites possessed by no other,” Curtis himself wrote.” Nutt says the university exhibit proves that “while staged, the poignant and beautiful images do provide a glimpse into the lives of Native Americans in the early 20th century.”

Whats Up, Pages 11 on 12/14/2012

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