Edward S. Curtis Above the Medicine Line: Portraits of Aboriginal Life in the Canadian West

Description

“Edward S. Curtis Above the Medicine Line” is both an introduction to the Seattle-based photographer and a tribute to a true visionary. While Curtis’s photographs will long be his legacy| his own story is likewise compelling. Curtis built his first camera at 12 and developed that interest into a large Seattle photo studio by the age of 30. Then| on an expedition to Alaska in 1899| Curtis was exposed to First Nations cultures in a way that affected him profoundly. First Nations people had been decimated due to the diseases and aggressions of white settlers. Curtis| alarmed that their traditional ways of life were in danger of disappearing forever| made an incredible effort to capture their daily routines| character and dignity through photography and audio recordings. Curtis had planned to document only the First Peoples of the United States and Alaska| but his exposure to Canada’s Blackfoot Nation spurred him to include all of North America. The visual result was “The North American Indian|” a 20-volume record of 75 of North America’s Native peoples. This collection of Curtis’s images includes 100 of his most striking images and a biography. Also available in hardcover.