Tom Fudge: The name Edward Curtis may not mean anything to you. But you’ve almost certainly seen his photography. His portraits of American Indians were taken during the first three decades of the 20 th century. He photographed Geronimo and other famous Indian Chiefs. His work documented the dress, the dwellings and the hair styles of many different tribes. His landscapes of Indian country were stunning. Maybe you’ve seen his famous photograph of a line of Indian horsemen with the cliffs of Canyon de Chelle looming over them.
Curtis was a great photographer. But just like anyone else, associated with the very troubled relationship between whites and Indians, he has become controversial.
Right now, San Diego’s downtown library has an exhibition of Curtis photos up in its Wangenheim Room. Many of those photos will move, on March 10 th , to another display of Curtis photographs at Balboa Park’s Museum of Man .
Guest
- Ross Frank , Ph.D. and chair of ethnic studies at UCSD.
