Apache County Library District Office issued the following announcement on July 12.
Edward Sheriff Curtis, (1868-1952) or "The Shadow Catcher," as many Native Americans called him, was one of the most well-known photographers and ethnologists of his day. His life's work was to capture the cultures of Native Americans from Alaska to Arizona- and all places in between, in photographs, wax cylinders (songs and stories), and written narratives. His work is considered some of the best photography to be produced, ever. Curtis's photos and written narratives were published in a 20 volume set, "The North American Indian," and financed by J.P. Morgan.
During the early 1900's, Curtis was a guest at the Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, Apache County, AZ. While in Apache County, he made some of his most iconic photographs, including the second photo in this post, "The Vanishing Race." A group of Navajo people, riding horses on a dusty trail, this photograph helped spark the romance of the American people with native cultures and the "old west."
His images of Canyon de Chelly, portraits of the Dine' people, and their customs and rituals are beautiful records of that world from 116 years ago. Curtis died penniless and living with a daughter in California in 1952, never having sought to enrich himself from his passion for the Native American people and culture.
Original source can be found here.
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