Thunderbird
A dancer from the Kwaguʼł nation of British Columbia portrays Qunhulahl, the thunderbird. A mainstay of Pacific Northwest nations’ oral traditions, the thunderbird—a powerful spirit—creates thunder by flapping its wings.
These 12 Photos of American Indians Are Beautiful, Surreal, and Haunting
Edward Curtis defined the way we see Native Americans.
In 1895, photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis met a subject who would change his life and who would forever alter the way we see American Indians.
Her name was Princess Angeline, and she was the daughter of Si’ahl, a powerful American Indian chief for whom the city of Seattle was named. By then she'd grown old, selling clams at markets to make ends meet. He asked to photograph her, paying a dollar per photo—and set himself on a decades-long course to document American Indian life.
Curtis, who died 63 years ago on Monday, became arguably the single most influential chronicler of American Indian culture.
With the backing of J.P. Morgan and Theodore Roosevelt, the photographer dedicated 30 years taking pictures of American Indians from
