This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.
Thanks for your patience during our recent outage at scalar.usc.edu. While Scalar content is loading normally now, saving is still slow, and Scalar's 'additional metadata' features have been disabled, which may interfere with features like timelines and maps that depend on metadata. This also means that saving a page or media item will remove its additional metadata. If this occurs, you can use the 'All versions' link at the bottom of the page to restore the earlier version. We are continuing to troubleshoot, and will provide further updates as needed. Note that this only affects Scalar projects at scalar.usc.edu, and not those hosted elsewhere.
Performing Archive
Main Menu
Visualizing the “Vanishing Race”: the photogravures of Edward S. Curtis
Front Page for Visualizing the "Vanishing Race" path
Curtis' Image and Life: The Network of The North American Indian, Inc.
An experiment with data visualization approach to understand and contextualize Curtis' images and his life
Media, Technology and Mediations
Curtis's Technology, Relationships to Media and Style
Contextualizing Curtis, The North American Indian, and Race
the collection of essays from the contributors
Consulting with Tribes as Part of Archive Development
Introduction to Consulting with Tribes by Ulia Gosart
Contributing Archives
Information on how to participate in Performing Archive
Browsing the Media
A path of paths that allow users to cut through the collection in a variety of ways.
Acknowledgements and Project Information
Project Network
Jacqueline Wernimont
bce78f60db1628727fc0b905ad2512506798cac8
David J. Kim
18723eee6e5a79c8d8823c02b7b02cb2319ee0f1
Stephan Schonberg
23744229577bdc62e9a8c09d3492541be754e1ef
Amy Borsuk
c533a79d33d48cbf428e1160c2edc0b38c50db19
Beatrice Schuster
a02047525b31e94c1336b01e99d7f4f758870500
Heather Blackmore
d0a2bf9f2053b3c0505d20108092251fc75010bf
Ulia Gosart (Popova)
67c984897e6357dbeeac6a13141c0defe5ef3403
Berry-picker - Clayoquot
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Erik Loyer
f862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
29482
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Erik Loyer
f862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
This page has paths:
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Erik Loyer
f862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
Clayoquot
Erik Loyer
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Erik Loyer
f862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
Contents of this path:
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Berry-picker - Clayoquot
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Whale ceremonial - Clayoquot
1
Before daring to practise his dangerous art, the whaler subjects himself to a long and rigorous course of ceremonial purification in order to render himself pleasing to the spirit whale. He bathes frequently, rubs his body vigorously with hemlock sprigs, dives, and imitates the movements of a whale.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Boarding the canoe
1
A Hesquiat berry-picker in primitive garb on the bold shores of Clayoquot sound. The barefoot natives make their way without difficulty over barnacle-covered rocks such as these. It will be noted that the canoe has been fitted with rowlocks.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Clayoquot girl
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Canoeing on Clayoquot Sound
1
Two Hesquiat women are homeward bound with the product of their day's labor in gathering food, and cedar-bark to be used in making mats.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Ceremonial bathing
1
The subject of this plate is a female shaman of the Clayoquot tribe. The ceremonial washing of shamans is much like that of whalers and other hunters, consisting mainly of sitting or standing in water and rubbing the body with hemlock sprigs in order to remove all earthly taint, which would offend the supernatural powers.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
Clayoquot type
1
It was men such as the possessor of this inscrutable face who in 1811 attacked the Astor trading ship Tonquin in Clayoquot sound, so successfully that the only recourse of the remnant of the crew was to blow up the vessel.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Into the shadow - Clayoquot
1
A medicine-woman, alone is seeking a solitary place in which to perform her rites of bodily purification. Most of the Indian women are no less skillful that the men in handling canoes.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
Fish spearing - Clayoquot
1
The fisherman is taking flounders and other flatfish, which lie half-covered in the sand. At certain seasons, when the water is turbid by reason of the presence of excessive marine growth, objects on the bottom of a quiet bay can be discerned at a surprising depth. It is frequently assumed that the prows of North Coast canoes are carved in imitation of a dog's head, but the natives deny any intentional resemblance. The notch in the top of the prow, dividing it into two sections suggestive of an animal's ears, is simply a rest for the shaft of a spear or harpoon.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
Whaler - Clayoquot
1
The spear in the subject's hand is the weapon of a warrior, not of a whaler.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:07:53-07:00
On Clayoquot Sound
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:07:53-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:07:54-07:00
A Clayoquot maiden
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:07:54-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:07:55-07:00
Costume of a woman shaman - Clayoquot
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:07:55-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:07:55-07:00
Woman shaman looking for clairvoyant visions - Clayoquot
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:07:55-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:07:56-07:00
Clayoquot woman in cedar-bark hat
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:07:56-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:07:58-07:00
A Clayoquot woman
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:07:58-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:13:02-07:00
Erik Loyer
f862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
List of Large Plates Supplementing Volume Eleven
Erik Loyer
1
Media Gallery
structured_gallery
2018-03-16T21:13:02-07:00
Erik Loyer
f862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
Contents of this path:
1
2018-03-16T21:12:08-07:00
Bowman
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:08-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
On the shores at Nootka
1
Two women wearing the primitive bark blanket and nose-ornament, and with clam-baskets on their backs, rest on the beach while waiting for the tide to fall and uncover the clam-beds.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
Hesquiat root digger
1
Nootka women very commonly wore bark cape folded over the head, to protect the forehead from the tump-line, when carrying the burden-basket. The proper use of the cape was to shed rain.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Berry-picker - Clayoquot
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
Seaweed gatherer
1
Seaweed of the genus Porphyra is a favorite food among all the tribes of the North Pacific coast. The green, membranous fronds are gathered in the spring from tidal rocks and are pressed into flat cakes and dried.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Whale ceremonial - Clayoquot
1
Before daring to practise his dangerous art, the whaler subjects himself to a long and rigorous course of ceremonial purification in order to render himself pleasing to the spirit whale. He bathes frequently, rubs his body vigorously with hemlock sprigs, dives, and imitates the movements of a whale.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Boarding the canoe
1
A Hesquiat berry-picker in primitive garb on the bold shores of Clayoquot sound. The barefoot natives make their way without difficulty over barnacle-covered rocks such as these. It will be noted that the canoe has been fitted with rowlocks.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Clayoquot girl
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Canoeing on Clayoquot Sound
1
Two Hesquiat women are homeward bound with the product of their day's labor in gathering food, and cedar-bark to be used in making mats.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
Nootka method of spearing
1
The harpoon for seals, porpoises, and salmon is double-headed, so that if the point on the main shaft glances off, the other may perhaps lodge in the hunter's prey.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:06:54-07:00
Oldest man of Nootka
1
This individual is the most primitive relic in the modernized village of Nootka. Stark naked, he may be seen hobbling about the beach or squatting in the sun, living in thought in the golden age when the social and ceremonial customs of his people were what they had always been.
plain
2018-03-16T21:06:54-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Ceremonial bathing
1
The subject of this plate is a female shaman of the Clayoquot tribe. The ceremonial washing of shamans is much like that of whalers and other hunters, consisting mainly of sitting or standing in water and rubbing the body with hemlock sprigs in order to remove all earthly taint, which would offend the supernatural powers.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
Hesquiat woman
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
Clayoquot type
1
It was men such as the possessor of this inscrutable face who in 1811 attacked the Astor trading ship Tonquin in Clayoquot sound, so successfully that the only recourse of the remnant of the crew was to blow up the vessel.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:06-07:00
Hesquiat maiden
1
The girl wears the cedar-bark ornaments that are tied to the hair of virgins on the fifth morning of their puberty ceremony, as described in Volume XI, page 42. The fact that the girl who posed for this picture was the prospective mother of an illegitimate child caused considerable amusement to the native onlookers and to herself.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:06-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
Into the shadow - Clayoquot
1
A medicine-woman, alone is seeking a solitary place in which to perform her rites of bodily purification. Most of the Indian women are no less skillful that the men in handling canoes.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
Nootka woman wearing cedar-bark blanket
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
Whaler
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
Bark gatherer
1
These people still use large quantities of yellow-cedar bark in the manufacture of mats, and formerly this material furnished them their clothing also. The Hesquiat woman in the picture has a bulky pack of bark on her back, and in her hand is a steel-bladed adz of the primitive type.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00
Nootka woman
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00
Makah maiden
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00
At Nootka
1
The canoe is floating on the waters of Boston cove, where in 1803 the trading ship Boston was taken and burned by the Mooachaht Indians, and the entire crew killed except John Jewitt and John Thompson, who were held as slaves by the chief for three years. Jewitt's brief account of his captivity is one of our most interesting records of life among the Indians.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00
Waiting for the canoe
1
As evening approaches, two women with clam-baskets and digging-sticks gaze across the water, anxiously awaiting the canoe that is to come and convey them home.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00
Haiyahl - Nootka
1
A Nootka woman in profile, with a shell nose-ring and fur-edged bark blanket.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
Shores of Nootka Sound
1
This plate conveys an excellent impression of the character of much of the Vancouver Island coast, with its rugged, tide-washed rocks, thickly timbered lowland, and lofty mountains in the distance.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
Nootka man
1
It is commonly believed that the facial hair of many North Coast natives is proof of intermingled Caucasian blood; but that such is not the case is conclusively proved by the statement of Captain Cook, who in 1778 observed that "some of them, and particularly the old men, have not only considerable beards all over the chin, but whiskers and mustachios."
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
On the west coast of Vancouver Island
1
Lacking hats to protect their heads from the sun, women sometimes make use of wreaths of foliage.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
Fish spearing - Clayoquot
1
The fisherman is taking flounders and other flatfish, which lie half-covered in the sand. At certain seasons, when the water is turbid by reason of the presence of excessive marine growth, objects on the bottom of a quiet bay can be discerned at a surprising depth. It is frequently assumed that the prows of North Coast canoes are carved in imitation of a dog's head, but the natives deny any intentional resemblance. The notch in the top of the prow, dividing it into two sections suggestive of an animal's ears, is simply a rest for the shaft of a spear or harpoon.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
Return of halibut fishers
1
Huge quantities of halibut are taken by the Makah at Cape Flattery, and the flesh is sliced thin and dried for storage.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
Whaler - Clayoquot
1
The spear in the subject's hand is the weapon of a warrior, not of a whaler.
plain
2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
Whaler - Makah
1
Note the great size of the harpoon-shaft. Indian whalers implanted the harpoon-point by thrusting, not by hurling, the weapon.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
Captured whale
1
A small humpback whale (Megapter) lies partially butchered on the beach at Neah Bay.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
Haida chief's tomb at Yan
1
The remains of the chief rest in a niche cut into the top of the transverse beam. This tomb is of unusual form, and must have been erected at enormous cost to the dead man's family.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
Haida of Massett
1
The head-dress is a "dancing hat," and consists of a carved wooden mask surmounted by numerous sea-lion bristles and with many pendent strips of ermine-skin.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:12-07:00
Haida of Kung
1
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:12-07:00
1
2018-03-16T21:12:12-07:00
Haida slate carvings
1
Some of the Haida men are remarkably skilled in carving miniature "totem poles" out of a soft black slate. A column such as those here reproduced simply recounts a myth.
plain
2018-03-16T21:12:12-07:00