In honor of Native American Heritage Day, we recognize native people, through the lens of history. Native peoples have inhabited North America for around 30,000 years.
Boston Public Library has a beautiful collection of historical imagery that includes hundreds of portraits of Native Americans. Taken by Frank A. Rinehart, the images were art of a commissioned body of work in 1898.
These sepia-toned images show peoples from the Sioux, Apache, Kiowa, Arapahoe and Crow tribes. See captions below for each photo.
“Frank A. Rinehart, a commercial photographer in Omaha, Nebraska, was commissioned to photograph the 1898 Indian Congress, part of the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition.
More than five hundred Native Americans from thirty-five tribes attended the conference, providing the gifted photographer and artist an opportunity to create a stunning visual document of Native American life and culture at the dawn of the 20th century. “
-Boston Public Library.
4 comments
Photographer and tribes are indeed listed. Please visit the post on mossandfog.com
why no names of peoples and tribes????
We grew up with stories and films depicting swashbuckling settler cowboys fighting brave Native Indians/Injuns aka Red Indians, until they almost became extinct.
Remember the Alamo.
With the advent of civilization the remaining natives were slowly forced to accept and intermingle with the settlers way of life.
Today we appreciate and reflect on the long gone glorious days of the Native tribes and their fearless chiefs.
Nothing is permanent except change.
Names and tribes, photographic setting and photographer would make this post so much more meaningful and appropriate.