In 1906, Photographer Took Chillingly Beautiful Photos Of Native American Tribes

Edward S. Curtis was a renowned American ethnologist and photographer of the American West and Native American people.

During his life, he took an astonishing amount of pictures of the wild American landscape, retaining a record that would give future generations a glimpse into a remarkable period of the country’s history.

Starting in 1906, Curtis spent over two decades traveling across North America, tracing the footsteps of over 80 Native American tribes, in an attempt to document the indigenous people.

His series of amazing photographs, ultimately titled The North American Indian, exists today as priceless works of art, and as one of the most breathtaking visual collections in the country.

Below, we share a few of the photographs from Curtis’ collection that, although captured in black-and-white, really transports us back to that time, and back to that beautiful wild landscape, just like these unbelievable Great Depression–era photos did.

Scroll down to view these incredible photographs, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

edward curtis native americans

Man of the Crow tribe on horseback, in 1908.

edward curtis native americans

Hupa spear fisherman watches for salmon, in 1923.

edward curtis native americans

An Apsaroke shaman, in 1908.

edward curtis native americans

A mother and child of the Crow tribe, in 1908.

edward curtis native americans

A Kutenai duck hunter, in 1910.

edward curtis native americans

Group of men of the Navajo tribe in the Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, in 1904.

edward curtis native americans

Medicine Crow, of the Apsaroke tribe, in 1908.

edward curtis native americans

Two Piegan girls gather the goldenrod plant, in 1910.

edward curtis native americans

Piegan chiefs, in 1900.

edward curtis native americans

Sioux chiefs, in 1905.

edward curtis native americans

A Hidatsa man with an eagle, in 1908.

edward curtis native americans

Hollow Horn Bear, a Brulé man, in 1907.

edward curtis native americans

A girl of the Jicarrilla Apache people, in 1910.

edward curtis native americans

A girl of the Wishran tribe, in 1910.

edward curtis native americans

Dancers of the Qagyuhl tribe, in 1914.

edward curtis native americans

A Kwakiutwl wedding party arrives on shore in canoes, in 1914.

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