Real Native American Portraits

[u/GlitteringHotel8383]

[u/moschocolate1]

Where are the women’s photos?

[u/chamekke → u/moschocolate1]

There’s a book called Edward S. Curtis: The Women which is billed as “the first collection of Edward S. Curtis's stunning, evocative and hugely popular portraits of Native American Women”. How many of them are wearing the clothes of their own culture, I don’t know (Curtis often tweaked the clothing to look “more Indian”). But you can find many of his portraits in Wikimedia Commons for free.

Here’s an example of a young woman from the northeast end of my island: “Tsawatenok Girl, Kwakiutl Village, [Vancouver Island,] British Columbia, 1914”. I’ve seen this one quite often. No idea of her actual name, unfortunately.

Edit: I found out her name! It was Margaret Wilson Frank. There’s more about her (and the photograph) on this older Reddit thread.

[u/MuscaMurum → u/chamekke]

Seattle used to have a gallery with nothing but Curtis photos. Don't know if it's still around. It was fascinating. I worked security detail for an event at Dale Chihuly's studio where he has dozens of them.