Native Family

Book excerpt: Native Family presents some of the finest examples of Edward Sheriff Curtis's portraiture, especially of women and children, as well as images that portray the traditional costumes, rites, and character of the individuals who made up the native nations of North America. Photographs of a wide variety of tribal groups from the Pacific Northwest to the Desert Southwest to the Great Plains are included. The images, selected by Curtis expert Christopher Cardozo, are from Curtis's landmark publication, The North American Indian. This twenty-volume, twenty-portfolio magnum opus contains thousands of photogravures and accompanying historical and descriptive text, some of which has been excerpted here to bring the pictures to life and provide information on family structure, marriage customs, living conditions, child-rearing, relationships, and other components of these native peoples' often difficult existence. Compiled over thirty years beginning in 1898, Curtis's study of more than eighty tribal cultures on the brink of extinction captured the essence of the Native American way of life.