Native American Photography

Native American Photography has made a big impact, and has influenced us today, the Native Americans, and has caused many controversies and myths. It gave us a better understanding of their lives, the native americans could cherish the past, and it caused some controversies with their beliefs.

By being able to view photography of Native Americans people can gain a better understanding of their life and how they live. Photographers such as Edward Curtis give us great insight to their world. Thanks to his 222 complete sets of published photographs we can see traditions, lively hoods, and the workings of different tribes. As people dive into the world of Native Americans they can understand what the Native Americans went through and sympathize. People can see the good and bad results of the settlers. 

Native American photography also mad an impact by affecting the Native Americans. Through the use of photography they were able to show people the way they lived and that they needed to be treated better. Photography also affected the Native Americans by giving them a chance to voice their opinion. Being able to show their thoughts on a new platform helped people realize what they were going through and what they were doing to them. Even though the Native Americans were wary about having their photos taken in the beginning they began to fall in love with them. It was a way to link themselves to their heritage and culture. They were able to see lost loved ones and cherish the past. 

Photography involving the Native Americans also sparked many controversies. When looking at photographer Edward Curtis it would seem as though his pictures were very true to the situation and beautiful but he caused a huge controversy. There was a picture that had clearly been doctored. The picture is of two Native Americans sitting inside their home. One picture shows clearly that there is a clock sitting between the two indians while the other the clock has been edited out. The reason that this became so widely known was because the indians didn’t understand why he felt the need to remove this from his image. Photography also caused the widely-known controversy about their beliefs. They believed that if their photo was taken it would also steal their sole. This made it difficult for anyone to gain photographs of the Native Americans. 

        Photography was made a big impact on the Native American culture. It gave us more insight to what they were going through, it gave the Native American’s a voice and a way to link themselves to their culture, and it cause many controversies. 

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