Edward S. Curtis

   Edward S. Curtis was a photographer and an ethnologist of the western Native American peoples. He was born in Whitwater, WI on February 16, 1868 and died October 19, 1952. The Curtis family moved to Washington in 1887 and that is when Edward started his photography career with Native Americans. He took a portrait of Chief Seattle's daughter, Princess Angeline and won first place in a photography contest with it. In 1899 Curtis participated in the Harriman expedition to Alaska as on of the only two photographer going on that trip. After that he accompanied George Grinell on a trip to Norther Montana  where they witnesses the sacred Sundance of two tribes. After that trip it became clear to Edward that he was to record with cameras and pens the life of the North American Indian.He spent the next 30 year documenting over 80 tribes west of the Mississippi and his project won praise from powerful people such as President Roosevelt. He completed his project in 1930 with 20 volumes each having 75 hand pressed photogravures and 300 pages of text.