The three hundred magnificent black-and-white photographs in this book offer a unique record of the Indians of North America, as seen by the early photographers. From the first pictures, prompted by curiosity and a sense of adventure, to the later images capturing the strangeness, turmoil and pathos of change of the Indian way of life, these photographs document the confrontation of white and Indian cultures.
Following the large-scale western surveys and the tragic massacre at Wounded Knee, the photographs of the early twentieth century resonate with a new spirit and function, recalling in nostalgic mood the era before Indian contact with the white establishment. Including the work of the early daguerreotypists as well as studio and itinerant photographers, this book also traces the evolution of photographic technique, and includes short biographies of over two hundred important photographers of the Indians.
Frequently of stunning quality and often disarming in their immediacy, these photographs combine with an illuminating and well-researched text to provide an outstanding and important history of North American Indian life.
