Archive All Issues November 1999

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When turn-of-the-century photographer Edward S. Curtis danced with the Hopis, it was his way of getting to know his subjects.

Featured in the November 1999 Issue of Arizona Highways

THE TIMELESS LEGACY OF PHOTOGRAPHER EDWARD S. CURTIS

Concentrating on the ceremony, he measured each footstep. Every move kicked up a puff of reddish dust, and the bright sunshine flooding the plaza broke into a polychrome of colors as it played through the ochre powder. Shimmering halos of light outlined his fellow dancers as they swayed and sang. The power of the ceremony began to take hold. For 16 days, he had prepared with ritual fasting and ablutions. Outwardly indistinguishable from the Hopi dancers who surrounded him, he shuffled in step toward the earthen jars that contained the snakes. When his turn came, he took the rattlesnake from the keeper. With the poisonous reptile twisting in his hands, he danced. Four times around the plaza. The pounding of the foot drum seemed to reverberate in his chest. Disconnected dreams of ancient lives played behind his half-closed eyelids while the songs of the dancers and the sounds of the rattles they shook buzzed in his head. He placed the snake around his neck and, finally, held it carefully between his teeth.

Photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis was 44 years old that hot July day in 1912 when he became a snake priest. Twelve years before marked his first visit to the pueblos. Each year since, he had visited Arizona's Hopi Indians during the Snake Dance, the tribe's annual plea to the gods for continued rain. The years Curtis had spent gaining the Hopis' trust had culminated in his taking part in their most dramatic ritual as a fully initiated member of the snake fraternity. Such tireless dedication and perseverence were hallmarks of the photographer's personality. His willingness to go to great lengths to establish a rapport with his subjects is one of the reasons his portraits are so compelling. Curtis demonstrated this dedication again and again while producing the staggering body of work that became the 20 volumes of his North American Indian portfolios.

A project of this size was wildly ambitious. Curtis planned to photograph every tribe - all 80 of them with active members left in the United States in 1900. He had reached his goal by the time he completed the last volumes nearly 30 years later. During that time, he exposed more than 40,000 negatives, traveled thousands of miles under the harshest of conditions, chronicled hundreds of lives, and preserved a priceless record of the quickly disappearing world of the first Americans. A telling indication of Curtis' attachment to the Grand Canyon State was his decision to dedicate much of the work in the first two volumes to the Indians of Arizona. His love of the state and affection for its native peoples are reflected in this wonderful record of a changing time.

As we gaze into the eyes of his subjects, mystery and fascination overtake our sensibilities. The directness of each photograph grabs hold, forcing us to confront the person looking back at us at a very basic human level. When we look into the eyes of Mosa, the young Mohave girl shown on our cover, a life touches us across generations and cultures. We see someone who looks like us, whoever we may be. This, perhaps, is Edward Curtis' most lasting gift.

The Pool Apache

In JUNE, 1906, CURTIS ACCOMPANIED A BAND OF WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHES ON THEIR ANNUAL HARVEST OF MESCAL, AN IMPORTANT STAPLE IN THE TRIBE'S DIET. THIS PICTURE OF A WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE MAN WAS TAKEN AT THE END OF THE FIRST DAY'S RIDE ALONG THE BLACK RIVER. AFTER ARRIVING AT THEIR EVENING'S CAMP, THE MEN AND WOMEN SPLIT UP FOR THEIR NIGHTLY BATHS. HERE IS CURTIS' IMPRESSION OF THE APACHES THAT EVENING: "FROM FAR DOWN THE STREAM RESOUND THE SPLASH OF WATER AND THE MERRY LAUGHTER OF MATRONS AND MAIDENS BATHING IN THE CLEAR POOLS, AND FROM ABOVE THE MORE BOISTEROUS SHOUTS OF MEN AND BOYS. SURELY HE WHO SAYS THE AMERICAN INDIAN IS MOROSE, STOLID, AND DEVOID OF HUMOR NEVER KNEW HIM IN THE INTIMACY OF HIS OWN HOME."

THIRTY-SIX YEARS OLD WHEN HE PHOTOGRAPHED HIMSELF IN 1908, CURTIS HAD JUST PUBLISHED HIS SECOND OF 20 VOLUMES OF "THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN." ENCOURAGED BY PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND UNDERWRITTEN BY FINANCIAL BARON J.P. MORGAN, CURTIS DEDICATED HIMSELF TO PHOTOGRAPHING THE AMERICAN INDIAN. WHEN THE LAST VOLUME WAS PUBLISHED IN 1930-NEARLY $1.5 MILLION LATER CURTIS COMPLETED A PHOTOGRAPHIC MAGNUM OPUS THAT REMAINS BOTH A VISIONARY MASTERPIECE AND A HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE CONTINENT'S FIRST PEOPLE.

CURTIS PHOTOGRAPHED THE "NAVAJO BLACK GOD, THE GOD OF FIRE," IN 1904-05. ACCORDING TO CURTIS, THE GOD OF FIRE IS AN IMPORTANT DEITY OF THE NAVAJOS, BUT APPEARS INFREQUENTLY IN THEIR MYTHOLOGY AND NIGHTWAY CEREMONIES.

A Portfolio EDWARD S. CURTIS Eskadi - Apache

THIS PORTRAIT OF ESKADI, A WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE, WAS TAKEN IN 1903.

Singing to the Snakes - Shipaulovi

A RARE, INTIMATE PHOTOGRAPH OF HOPI SNAKE PRIESTS SINGING SHIPAULOVI SNAKE-WASHING SONGS TO THE REPTILES DURING THE 16-DAY SNAKE DANCE CEREMONY IN 1906. CURTIS SAID AFTER A CLOUD CLANSMAN WASHED THE SNAKES, "HE LAYS THEM ON THE ALTAR, WHERE THE NOVITIATES WITH THEIR FEATHER 'WHIPS' KEEP THEM MOVING ABOUT OVER THE SAND UNTIL THE . . . SNAKES ARE DRY. . . AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE SNAKE WASHING, THE CLOUD CLANSMEN SAY, 'NOW MAY OUR CLANSMEN [THE CLOUDS] SOON WASH US!'"

BLANKETED AGAINST THE COLD OF AN EARLY SPRING MORNING, WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE MEN STOP TO TELL STORIES DURING A RIDE IN 1906. CURTIS NOTED IN HIS FIRST VOLUME OF "THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN" THAT

A Portfolio EDWARD S. CURTIS

THE APACHES ARE "A STORYTELLING GROUP" AND THAT THEY "OFTEN SIT ABOUT AND EXCHANGE STORIES OF THE PAST OR OF TODAY." STORYTELLING REMAINS AN INTEGRAL PART OF APACHE RELIGIOSITY AND CULTURE.

A Portfolio EDWARD S. CURTIS Apache Gaun

THESE WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE INDIANS, PHOTOGRAPHED IN 1906, IMPERSONATE THE MOUNTAIN SPIRITS, OR GAUN. THEY PERFORM AT THE GAUN BAGUDZITASH OR DANCE OF THE GODS, EACH DANCER REPRESENTING A PARTICULAR SPIRIT: ONE OF THE EAST, ONE OF THE SOUTH, ONE OF THE WEST, ONE OF THE NORTH, AND ONE AS A FUN-MAKER. CURTIS MAY HAVE PHOTOGRAPHED THEM AS THEY WERE READYING TO PERFORM AT A YOUNG WOMAN'S PUBERTY CEREMONY. ACCORDING TO APACHE TRADITION, THE MOUNTAIN SPIRITS GAVE WOMEN THE KNOWLEDGE OF AGRICULTURE. THE FIGURE ON THE FAR LEFT IS UNIDENTIFIED.

Apache Nalin

PHOTOGRAPHED IN 1908, AN APACHE GIRL ABOUT 14 YEARS OLD IS DRESSED AS THE WHITE PAINTED WOMAN IN PREPARATION FOR THE TRADITIONAL SUNRISE PUBERTY RITE, THE NALIN BAGUDZITASH, OR GIRL DANCE. AN ABALONE SHELL IN HER HAIR SYMBOLIZES THE YOUNG WOMAN'S IDENTIFICATION WITH WHITE PAINTED WOMAN.