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Performing ArchiveMain MenuVisualizing the “Vanishing Race”: the photogravures of Edward S. CurtisFront Page for Visualizing the "Vanishing Race" pathCurtis' 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 lifeMedia, Technology and MediationsCurtis's Technology, Relationships to Media and StyleContextualizing Curtis, The North American Indian, and Racethe collection of essays from the contributorsConsulting with Tribes as Part of Archive DevelopmentIntroduction to Consulting with Tribes by Ulia GosartContributing ArchivesInformation on how to participate in Performing ArchiveBrowsing the MediaA path of paths that allow users to cut through the collection in a variety of ways.Acknowledgements and Project InformationProject NetworkJacqueline Wernimontbce78f60db1628727fc0b905ad2512506798cac8David J. Kim18723eee6e5a79c8d8823c02b7b02cb2319ee0f1Stephan Schonberg23744229577bdc62e9a8c09d3492541be754e1efAmy Borsukc533a79d33d48cbf428e1160c2edc0b38c50db19Beatrice Schustera02047525b31e94c1336b01e99d7f4f758870500Heather Blackmored0a2bf9f2053b3c0505d20108092251fc75010bfUlia Gosart (Popova)67c984897e6357dbeeac6a13141c0defe5ef3403
12018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637On the shores at Nootka1Two 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.plain2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Hesquiat root digger1Nootka 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.plain2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Seaweed gatherer1Seaweed 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.plain2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Whale ceremonial - Clayoquot1Before 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.plain2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Boarding the canoe1A 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.plain2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Canoeing on Clayoquot Sound1Two 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.plain2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Nootka method of spearing1The 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.plain2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:06:54-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Oldest man of Nootka1This 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.plain2018-03-16T21:06:54-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Ceremonial bathing1The 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.plain2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Clayoquot type1It 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.plain2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:11:06-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Hesquiat maiden1The 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.plain2018-03-16T21:11:06-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Into the shadow - Clayoquot1A 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.plain2018-03-16T21:11:13-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Bark gatherer1These 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.plain2018-03-16T21:12:09-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637At Nootka1The 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.plain2018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Waiting for the canoe1As 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.plain2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Haiyahl - Nootka1A Nootka woman in profile, with a shell nose-ring and fur-edged bark blanket.plain2018-03-16T21:12:10-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Shores of Nootka Sound1This 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.plain2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Nootka man1It 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."plain2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637On the west coast of Vancouver Island1Lacking hats to protect their heads from the sun, women sometimes make use of wreaths of foliage.plain2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Fish spearing - Clayoquot1The 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.plain2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Return of halibut fishers1Huge quantities of halibut are taken by the Makah at Cape Flattery, and the flesh is sliced thin and dried for storage.plain2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Whaler - Clayoquot1The spear in the subject's hand is the weapon of a warrior, not of a whaler.plain2018-03-16T21:11:14-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Whaler - Makah1Note the great size of the harpoon-shaft. Indian whalers implanted the harpoon-point by thrusting, not by hurling, the weapon.plain2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Captured whale1A small humpback whale (Megapter) lies partially butchered on the beach at Neah Bay.plain2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Haida chief's tomb at Yan1The 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.plain2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Haida of Massett1The 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.plain2018-03-16T21:12:11-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:12-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Haida of Kung1plain2018-03-16T21:12:12-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
12018-03-16T21:12:12-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Haida slate carvings1Some 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.plain2018-03-16T21:12:12-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
