American Indian Photograph Collection

Images from the American Indian photograph
collection.

The rich diversity of Native American life in the Pacific Northwest dating from the mid 19th century to the late 20th century is captured in several thousand photographs and negatives at the Washington State Historical Society.

The photos show basket weavers, canoe carvers, camas root diggers, a Nisqually potlatch, industrial boarding schools and the Cushman Indian Hospital. The photographs illustrate the Makah whale hunt at Neah Bay, spear fishing on the San Poil River on the Colville Reservation and the historic annual gathering of fishermen for the salmon run at Celilo Falls on the Columbia River. The collection also includes portraits of Chief Seattle, Chief Joseph, Chief Leschi, Chief Lawyer, and many others. Among the tribes represented are the Colville, Lummi, Nisqually, Puyallup, Makah, Nez Perce, Quileute, Quinault, Skokomish, Tulalip, Wanapum, and Yakama.

Additional Information:

Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian: Photographic Images - The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis is one of the most significant and controversial representations of traditional American Indian culture ever produced. Issued in a limited edition from 1907-1930, the publication continues to exert a major influence on the image of Indians in popular culture.

American Indians of the Pacific Northwest - This site provides an extensive digital collection of original photographs and documents about the Northwest Coast and Plateau Indian cultures, complemented by essays written by anthropologists, historians, and teachers about both particular tribes and cross-cultural topics.

National Museum of the American Indian Archives - The Photo Archives at the Museum of the American Indian has over 125,000 images comprising one of the foremost collections of images of Native American culture and history.