"The Indians of North America are vanishing. There won't be anything left of them and it's a tragedy- a national tragedy," Edward Curtis wrote to George Bird Grinnell, a friend and colleague.1 Curtis was an early twentieth-century Native American photographer, at a time when many Native tribes were experiencing a lot of change, including new white settlers, Indian removal, and the new reservation system. The Cherokees and Creeks were in the process of being forcibly moved away from their home territories, and the Cheyennes, Navajos, Blackfeet, Utes, Crows, and Comaches were only a few of the tribes adjusting to secluded, small reservations or lessened territories set up by the United States government. From 1907 to 1930, Curtis published his collection of photographs in a series called The North American Indian, including over two thousand photographs with captions and additional information that he and his team learned from tribe elders. Curtis's goal was to capture the cultural presence of Native Americans while also displaying how their race was disappearing through his various photographic techniques. “We want the documentary picture of the people and their homeland—a picture that will show the soul of the people,” said Curtis in 1914.2 Although Edward S. Curtis was often criticized for staging his subjects, his photographs and studies in The North American Indian greatly contributed to the archive of Native American culture, which promoted a greater public appreciation for Native American life and history, and counteracted the perception of Native Americans as the inferior race. 

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Throughout most of his life, Edward Curtis was devoted to Native American photography and documentation. He was born in 1868 near Whitewater, Wisconsin. He began his career at a young age showing interest in photography and even making his own camera. In 1887, he moved to Seattle where he began to photograph Native Americans in the Puget Sound. He began his career as the official photographer for the Edward H. Harriman expedition to Alaska in 1899, where he traveled over 9,000 miles expanding his knowledge of landscape and nature photography. He continued to photograph expeditions into Native American territory, going with George Bird Grinnell on a Montana expedition in 1900, where he documented members of the Blackfeet tribe. Afterward, he spent more time west of the Mississippi, capturing more Native American life. J.P. Morgan, an investment banker, and President Theodore Roosevelt funded Curtis with 75,000 dollars so that he could continue his work. Curtis continued to spend over thirty years traveling across the United States and Mexico with his camera. He captured over 40,000 pictures of Native American people and daily life as well as around 10,000 videos, covering over eighty tribes. In addition to his work, The North American Indian, Curtis filmed a 1914 silent motion picture inspired by Kwakiutl culture, In the Land of the Head Hunters, later known as In The Land of the War Canoes, which now is heavily questioned on its use of staging and over exaggeration. Curtis later died in 1952 in Los Angeles, living to be 84 years old.3 

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Photographs in The North American Indian brought Native American tribes to a greater audience because of their attractive visuals which alluded to the beautiful and sophisticated nature of Native American life. His knowledgeable execution of artistic photography through his staging and lighting techniques contributed to his images' ability to convey emotion. His skilled use of photographic techniques and placement of subjects further emphasized the complexity of the Native American race. One of these techniques was intentional shadowing, used to deepen the meaning of a picture or to emphasize the contrast between the light and the dark, often on the details in the subject's faces. Another technique he often used was staging his subjects in a pleasing composition, which also helped include several different aspects of Native American culture into one image that was not too overcomplicated. Curtis used staging for artistic appeal, which he received criticism for later on. Despite this, it became a key aspect of his work. Curtis focused on using “Simplicity and Individuality”, as he stated in an article from The Western Trail Illustrated. These core qualities made his images unique to him as well as appealing to a wider audience.4 The photograph “A Chief's Daughter” (Appendix A), which appeared in volume nine of The North American Indian, depicts a charming young Skokomish girl surrounded by neatly woven baskets that contain complex patterning.5 This image was an excellent example of Curtis’ intentional placement of subjects. He positioned the young girl with most of her back facing the camera and her face looking off towards the side to highlight her thoughtfulness and intellect. The woven baskets were purposefully placed around her to show the craftsmanship and complex nature of Skokomish culture. Followers of Curtis’s work during its publishing found appreciation for Native American culture through his skilled display and beautiful visuals. A New York Times article from June 6, 1908, reviewing his collection, reported that “Mr. Curtis has rare qualities as a photographer, alike in his recognition of the groupings, the light, and the shade, the points of view that will make the picture as pleasing as it is truthful, and in his ability to make the picture after he recognizes its value”.6 The article suggested that, through his photographs’ shading and perspective, Curtis was able to reveal the true nature of Native Americans away from stereotypes and create visually appealing images.