CHAPTER ONE Witness to a Piegan Ritual Thirty-two-year-old photographer Edward S Curtis’s eyes widened at the magnificent sight that stretched before him Mere minutes before he had been on horseback crossing a stretch of open prairie in northern Montana With him was magazine editor George B Grinnell a conservationist with a deep interest in American Indian life The two white men had met two years before on a mountainside in Washington State and had quickly become friends From the start Grinnell was impressed with Curtis’s camera skills The editor urged Curtis to put his talent to work capturing images of 5 Edward Curtis became well known for his portraits of Native American subjects such as this portrait of Yellow Kidney of the Piegan tribe
American Indians Curtis replied that he had indeed already thought about doing just that The idea dawned on him Grinnell later recalled that here was a wide field as yet unworked Here was a great country in which still lived hundreds of tribes 1 Some of those groups Curtis had said still retain many of their primitive customs and their ancient beliefs 2 It would certainly CRITIQUES OF CURTIS Though he was well-meaning and a gifted photographer several modern Native observers say Curtis too often tried to romanticize Native Americans His goal they explain was to make them appear as the stereotypical noble savage of the past This ignored the reality that their cultures were already changing Some wished to adjust to modern American life Others kept their traditions as best they could as the US government outlawed their religions and languages and separated them from their children in government boarding schools Curtis is attacked most often and most legitimately art historian Lucy Lippard writes for failing to depict American Indian life and customs accurately His soft focus blurred what might have been improper details she says He staged scenes routinely retouched and faked night skies storm clouds and other dramatic lighting effects He erased unwelcome signs of modernity such as clocks and early automobiles 3 be a great achievement he added to use photography to preserve what was left of those cultures Today the use of words such as primitive in relation to Native cultures is jarring and racist but at the time the two men considered themselves sympathetic friends to the tribal members they met and photographed Grinnell wanted to help his friend make up his mind about tackling such a grand project To that end he invited Curtis to go with him to Montana There Grinnell said they would visit the Piegans or Pikuni one of the tribes of the 6
The Piegan camp 1900 Blackfoot Confederacy Each summer they came together in a large camp There they held an ancient religious ceremony called the sun dance The US government had outlawed the ritual and most similar Native American religious expressions in an effort to stamp out tribal cultures but the tribe defied the order The curious Curtis hoped to witness that ritual and in early summer 1900 the two men rode to Montana Take Plenty of Time and Smile a Lot The two travelers crested the top of a low hill Curtis described the experience of riding up to the camp Suddenly Curtis later recalled he and his companion rode out in full view of the Piegan encampment and beheld a truly thrilling sight 4 Curtis estimated there were more than 200 large lodges or teepees 7
